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" The last six years, we have raised
$800,000 and we have helped out a lot of people. For a small foundation and with very
little overhead, I am proud of that” - Travis Roy Motivated Roy in the pink on the
green now By
Jim Fuller Register Staff ORANGE
‑ The first time Travis Roy made his way to Race Brook Country Club, he
was just a small‑town kid from Maine struggling with the trials and
tribulations of life in a wheelchair. But
after watching Roy hold court at the
seventh
annual Travis Roy Foundation Invitational Golf Tournament Monday, it is
clear that those days have long since passed. Now, Roy is a nationally renowned
motivational speaker. But most of all, he is very much a man, one who has come
to terms with his life as a quadriplegic. Back
in 1996, a shy and somewhat withdrawn Roy preferred to remain in the background
when he attended Race Brook for the very first time. In
an attempt to raise money to deal with Roy's growing hospital bills, the
tournament was set up Chris Drury, Roy's Boston University teammate, Drury's
family and Michael and John Ferguson, close friends of the Drurys. Much like
Roy himself the tournament has spread its wings. "It
is incredible to see how it has grown," said Roy, who was paralyzed after crashing
headfirst into the boards and shattering his fourth cervical vertebra II
seconds into his first shift as a freshman with the Boston University hockey
team. "It has' turned out into one of the most sought after (charity)
tournaments. Everybody is trying to get into it every year, everybody gets more
stuff. Everybody goes home with something, so it is a great time." Perhaps nobody is having a better time than
Roy. From heckling his father Lee after a tee shot to holding court with the local
golfers and celebrities who were among the estimated 250 golfers who paid $265
to take part in the festivities, now Roy seems to be determined to enjoy life
to its fullest. In the past seven years, Roy has emerged into a full‑fledged
spokesman for the disabled. The days of Roy being a victim ended years ago.
Now, he is an activist, and the fact that all the proceeds from the annual
event go to help the disabled pleases Roy to no end. "The
last six years, we have raised $800,000, and we have helped out a lot of people,"
said Roy, who now lives in Boston. "For a small foundation and with very
little overhead, I am proud of that.” "I
never want to see anybody in this condition and I want to spread awareness and
make people realize that spinal cord injuries are not going away. There is hope
for a cure and the more money we raise, the less time it is going to take to
find it. Awareness is the biggest battle at this point, and I want people to
realize that there is hope for me to get out of this chair at some point." Monday's
event featured 65 foursomes and plenty of star power as NHL veterans Chris and
Ted Drury were joined by and fellow professional hockey players Tom Poti, Mark
Mowers, Chris Kelleher and Eric Boguniecki. Julie Chu, a member of the United
States' silver medal winning Olympic women's hockey team, and U.S. Olympic
skeleton member Chris Soule also took part in the double shotgun event. "The first year, we figured the local guys who made it to the NHL would get together and raise some money," said Tournament Co‑Director Michael Ferguson said. "We never advertised it. When we started, we wanted to get a couple of foursomes together to help Travis with his expenses and over the years it has just ballooned."
Appeared in the New Haven Register June 25, 2002 |
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