By TOM EASTMAN, The Conway Daily Sun
Published: Thursday, May 23, 2013
View the original article here.
CONWAY — Motivational speaker and former college hockey star Travis Roy is once again scheduled to be the celebrity guest at the tee-off of the 36th annual Merlino’s Steak House Invitational Golf Tournament.
Registration is now under way for the tournament, set for the North Conway Country Club, June 1 and 2.
The field is limited to 180 players.
Proceeds benefit the Travis Roy Foundation for those with spinal injuries and research, and the Ham Arena Youth Skating Program.
Once again, Roy is scheduled to be there for the start June 1, according to tournament board member Bob Murphy of Madison.
One of the oldest golf tournaments in the region, the tourney over the past 35 years has raised more than $1 million to help local charities.
The tournament will once again feature a $1 Million Shoot Out and $10,000 Cash Hole-in-One both days.
The $225 entry fee includes:
• two days of golf – 36 holes;
• two-day continental breakfast;
• lunch Saturday and Sunday;
• Friday night reception at Merlino’s;
• dinner Saturday evening with a live auction (fees for guest diners: $25 Saturday and $10 Sunday);
• straight drive contest and longest drive contest;
• closest-to-the-pin contest;
• weekend skins game;
• 50/50 raffle (prizes galore);
• souvenir team photos;
• tournament raffle; and
• putting contest.
According to tourney chair Rick Luciano, those who attended the 2012 tournament may want to discount their rate to $190 due to the rain which canceled play on Sunday, or they may pay the full rate, should they so choose.
The tournament features a shotgun start. For further information about the tourney or lodging packages, call Luciano at Merlino’s at 356-6006, or email merlinos@ncia.net.
The Travis Roy Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the life of individuals with spinal cord injuries and their families by providing adaptive equipment and to finding a cure through increased funding of research, resulting in self-reliance and the ability to be as independent as possible.
The foundation was established in 1997 to help spinal cord injury survivors and to fund research into a cure. Inspired by Travis’ own story, the lifeblood of the Travis Roy Foundation has been the generosity of individuals, corporations and foundations across North America. This generosity has made an immediate impact on the lives of many individuals.
Roy was a promising 20-year-old hockey star who moments into his first collegiate game as a Boston University freshman in October 1995 suffered a freak accident which drove him into the boards. A cracked fourth vertebra left him paralyzed from the neck down.
That fateful night signaled the death of one dream — but also the eventual rebirth of a special kind of hope. For, though imprisoned for months in a hospital bed, then confined to a wheelchair, Roy gradually found the grit and the will to reclaim for himself a fulfilling and productive life.
From the very start of his ordeal, Roy enjoyed the support of a close-knit family; a legion of friends; his coach, Jack Parker; and his girlfriend Maija, who, despite the crippling effects of his injury never wavered in her devotion to his recovery and well-being.
Ultimately, as his struggle became national news, an entire country became his fan club – cheering him on as he adjusted to daily life and rooting for him when he established the Travis Roy Foundation, which is dedicated to research and one-on-one assistance for spinal injury cases.
In addition to his work with the foundation, Roy has become a motivational speaker who makes frequent appearances in and around New England and across the country.
He shared his story, hopes and insights in his 1998 book with E.M. Swift, “Eleven Seconds: A Story of Tragedy Courage and Triumph.”
“(Travis Roy’s story) is a story about America’s love affair with sports and the people who embrace its never-die spirit. Most of all, it is the story of one young man who surrendered to no limits and defied all odds, both before and after the tragedy that ended his game,” notes E.M. Swift in “Eleven Seconds.”
