On Friday, August 15th 100 golfers came out to Fowler’s Mill Golf Course in Chesterland, Ohio to support a great cause (and have a great time doing it). We had a perfect day for golf, and the best part is that all the event proceeds went to benefit the Easter Seals Northern Ohio speech therapy and autism program for children and adults.
This was our second annual event. In 2007, we raised $7,500. This year, we will near $11,000 in net proceeds to this important Easter Seals program. This is a 32% increase in proceeds over last year. We couldn’t have done this without great support both locally and nationally.
Most people do not know this, but the Easter Seals is the largest provider of Autism Services in the country. The net proceeds of the event go directly to those children who need specialized speech therapy treatment, but are challenged financially to get the proper support.
While there is no known cause or cure, nor one single effective treatment, autism is treatable. People with autism, at any age, are capable of making significant progress through personalized interventions and therapy; and can and do lead meaningful lives. That’s where Easter Seals comes in. Getting the right support at the earliest stage in life can help a child gain the skills he or she needs to be successful.
Those of you who know me know that autism is very personal to me, as it is to many of the people who participated in the Junta42 Golf for Autism event. I continue to be overwhelmed by the support we have received for this great cause, and am thankful to those that believe in this fight.
We Couldn’t Have Done it without Our Sponsors
Along with the 100 participants, we had nearly 70 corporations and individuals donate to the cause. All of them have made a significant impact into helping those dealing with autism become more successful. Here is a list of our supporters:
ABC Lettering & Embroidery Co.
Advit, LLC
AMS Specialty Steel
Applebee’s
Baker Hostetler
Baricelli Inn Restaurant in Little Italy
Bev Beckert
Big Boy
Blue Canyon
Bradley Glazer
Brian Kane
Buffalo Wild Wings (Bainbridge)
CED Leader Electric Supply
Chris McMurry
Cleveland
Steel Container
Colleen Zelina
Cooking Thyme
Crowne
Plaza Cleveland City Centre Hotel
CVS
Cygnus Business Media, Inc.
D Magazine Partners
Dick’s Sporting Goods
Dorothy & Kevin McCarthy
Duke Printing
Ed & Sandy Kozelka
Edward Marecki
Foster Printing Service, Inc.
Fry Communications
Galileo Communications
GFS
GIE Media, Inc.
Groff Funeral Homes/Leon J.Groff
HVACR Business
Infocommerce Group Inc.
IntegratedPublishing Sales
Intramedia/Jim Clifford
Jeanne Foley
Jim and Laurel Clarke
Jim and Peg Connell
Jim Bowman – F2S Enterprises
ka architecture
Kaiser Permanente
KentuckyFried Chicken
Lisa Murton Beets
Lynn and Jim Cole
Medical Mutual of Ohio
Mike and Michelle Pistillo
Mitch & Andrea Rouda
MNI
Moen
National City Bank
Paul & Mary Ann Kunkel
Petco
Playaway/Findaway Digital LLC
Putman Media/Mike Balzano
Red Robin
Rodale Custom Publishing
Ron Kornowski
Saremo
TGI Fridays
The Boneyard in Mayfield
The Kapitan Family
The Rosen Group
Wendy’s/Western Reserve Restaurant Management
WhiteSpace Creative
Yours Truly Restaurant
Special thanks to our Premier Sponsors. Without their support, the event would have been very difficult to pull off:
Cleveland Steel Container
GIE Media
MNI
Petco
WhiteSpace Creative
And finally, a special thanks to everyone on the Junta42 GFA Committee that really made this possible. First and foremost to my wife, Pam Pulizzi, who ran a flawless show during the event. To Mike and Lynne Pistillo, and the entire Pistillo family, for their fundraising efforts throughout the campaign. To the volunteers: Missy Pistillo, Angela Vannucci, Lisa Francisco, Laurel and Jim Clarke, Jeanne Foley and Ben and Don from Ka, Inc. Also a big thanks to Laura and Sandy Kozelka for watching the kids during the event. And finally, to Melissa Kocher and Sheila Dunn from Easter Seals Northern Ohio, and to Alex and the entire Richardson family for being our special guests at our event.
To view the images from the event, click here.
Everyone on the committee is looking forward to next August’s event where we will try to triple our efforts!
If you have any questions or comments on the event, please don’t hesitate to contact me at joe[at]junta42[dot]com.
If you would like to donate to the cause, please send any checks or donations to the Junta42 Golf for Autism, 3317 W 155th St., Cleveland, OH 44111.
Again, my sincere thanks!
For more information on last year’s event, click here.
2 Comments
Hey Joe,
Fantastic work!! Who says mixing pleasure and work is not possible. I can see from the pics you guys had a great day, all for a great cause.
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