On Monday, we held our fourth annual FOKN Golf Tournament, which couldn’t have gone better — thanks to the amazing work of some dedicated family and friends. We’ll thank them in a minute, but we really wanted to put in perspective how much this tournament means for Kevin and the Neary family.

Some of you may be aware that Kevin is able to hire home health aides for part of the week to assist in his care. This is a game-changer for Kevin and Joe Neary. They help Kevin get ready for the day and be more independent.

But these home health aides aren’t covered by insurance, and their time and work is valuable. On average, home health aides cost about $25,000 per year.

So how does this tie back to the golf tournament? This year, we were able to raise about $25,000. In one day (and a lot of prep work by volunteers), you helped cover the cost of Kevin’s care.

That’s why it goes without saying that we’re incredibly grateful – to the organizers, volunteers, donors, golfers and bidders. It is truly amazing and humbling to get this level of support.

The day was capped off by a really fun live auction emceed by Brian Startare, Philadelphia sports personality and long-time friend of Kevin’s. This year he led a really entertaining live auction that resulted in some generous bids!

And of course, there are so many volunteers that make the day run smoothly.

It’s such a great event, and we’re so grateful. We’ve included some photos showing some of the day’s highlights. Hope you can join us next year!

Great auction skills by our emcee, Brian Startare.

Golfers getting ready to hit the course!

Bill Burland, golf organizer extraordinaire!

Just a few of the tremendous auction items.

A few of our awesome volunteers who kept everything running smoothly!

A gorgeous day on the course – could not have asked for better weather. See you again next year!

We are thrilled to share with you our program for the FOKN Golf Tournament on September 12th! If you’re attending the tournament, click here to take a look. Lots of really great items that you will want to check out so you can plan your bidding. We are so grateful to our host committee and the many donors for putting together such an amazing set of items.

There could be a change or two between now and then, but this gives a great sense of what an exciting day we have in store.

Please join us in thanking all of our generous supporters! We are sold out of golfing spots, which is a testament to the amazing auction items and support from our community.

For all golfers, please note what’s new this year:

• Registration closes at 8:45 a.m.! 
• Dunkin’ Donuts will be there with a sampling truck.
• We will have TWO Dixon golf challenges. For details, click here: DIXON GOLF INTRODUCTION
• A few auction items will close at 8:45 a.m.! So keep an eye out for those.
• With such a full house, and our new staggered bidding, we anticipate some fierce bidding.  Bid early, bid often!

JOINING US FOR LUNCH ONLY?

• Please plan to arrive by 1 PM
• Review the program before you arrive — bidding is always a fun part of this event

NOT ATTENDING, AND WANT TO SUPPORT THE EVENT?

The site is closed for golfers; it is still open for sponsors and donations. You can support the event by clicking here.

Thanks again, and looking forward to seeing folks on 9/12!

SOLD OUT!

Some great news to report! We are SOLD OUT for the September 12 golf tournament, with thanks to the extraordinary efforts of Kevin’s champion Bill Burland.

Our thanks to Bill, and to our community, for this incredible support for Kevin.

The site remains open for those who wish to sponsor the event, purchase lunch tickets, and make donations. Click here if you’re interested in any of those options.

Golfers and non-golfers alike are in for a great day. We’ll post a program just before the event, so keep an eye out so you can plan your bids!

WHY are all of these people being thanked for gifts to the September 12 FOKN golf tournament?

(And this doesn’t even include our committee, our event sponsors, and many more generous donors.)

Check out this list, and join us in thanking them:

Alliance Marketing and Kristi Crocker

Leon Ariyan

Baltimore Ravens

Bassetts Ice Cream and Michael Strange

Gloria Baladez and Friends of QVC

Brandywine River Museum of Art and Kathleen Barkasy

Brigantessa

Car-Mira’s Deli

Century Club of San Diego and Juliane Alarcio and Peter Ripa

Chaddsford Winery

Cheesecake Factory and Denise Vivolo

Chipotle Turner Square, West Chester

Christiana Mall

Cinemark

CNN and John Robinson

Concordville Inn and Steve Angeline

Courtyard Baltimore Downtown and Patrick McManus

DAS (Dynamic Advertising Solutions) and Joe LaRose

Delaware Theatre Company

Rich and Sherri Dickert

Dixon Golf and Rob McClarty

Fado and Chelsea McNett

Golf Digest

Golf Galaxy

Golfsmith and Elizabeth Durham

Herrs Snacks and Maryann Tice

Honda Classic and Dana Johnson

J&J Snacks and Kristyn Castellante

Johnnie-O and Kim Rohm

Le Virtu

Marianne Kaplan

Kramer Portraits and Wendy Richards

Late Night with Seth Meyers and Kyle O’Donnell

The Late Show

Le Virtu

LIDS Christiana Mall

Lone Star

Longwood Gardens and Monica Staszesky

Joe Lunardi

Joe and Renee McGillian

Mendenhall Inn and Victoria Harris

Merion Golf Club and Harry Hill

Morgan’s Pier

National Constitution Center

Panera Bread

Ralph Papa

The Philadelphia Eagles and Tracy Foster

The Philadelphia Phillies and Kelly Yurgin

Philadelphia Theatre Company and Sara Garonzik

Beth Pelkofksy

Mike Pierce and Pierce and Hughes

RBC Heritage and Chris LoBello

Ricola and Jo Ann Kisielewski

Colleen Rush

Salesianum School and Brendan Kennealey and Nancy Meier

Laurie and Steve Schwalb

Shipyard Brewing and Fred Chapman

Sony Open and Rhonda Funn

Splendies and Anthony Coombs

Brian Startare

Sullivans and Bill White

Jan Tate

The Golf Warehouse and Tammy Smith

Colleen and Michelle Thomas

Tiger Woods Foundation and Danny Callahan

U.S. Naval Academy, Chet Gladchuk and Pat Phillips

Walnut Street Theatre and Melissa Leigh Hoke

Wawa and Jim Shorthall

Wells Fargo and Kristen Miller

Wendys and Elena Kurza

Will BYOB

The Wilma Theatre and Catherine Perez

Wilmington Blue Rocks and Kevin Linton

WIP, Maria Donahue and Cindy Webster

Wyncote Golf Club

Wyndham Philadelphia Historic District

Yards Brewing

Zavino

—–

What did these fine people donate?

You will have to be there on September 12 to see (and we’ll post a program just prior to the event).

There are still spots available to golf, but they are going fast:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fokn-golfin-2016-tickets-20936743363

The Nearyweds! 

Before we get to some truly amazing golf tournament auction items donated by some generous individuals, we wanted to take a moment to update you on one of the big recent outings for Kevin: his older brother Joe’s wedding to Olivia Cotton over Memorial Day weekend at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

The wedding was a great time and took place in a stunning venue. Kevin shared co-best man duties with his brother Chris, and they were both thrilled to welcome their new sister Olivia into the Neary family.

Some great photos are below — courtesy of Laura Neary — featuring the whole Neary clan (including Lindsey and Kathy) as well as a cameo by Ben Franklin himself with the newlyweds.

Some amazing auction items – you’ll want to check these out!

As the end of June nears, an update on the September 12 golf tournament.

If you already have your tickets, thank you.  Read on.

(If not, there is no time like the present…)

What’s new for the big day?

Let’s look at a few of the items we have in mind for our live auction:

 –Basketball Broadcast with ESPN Bracketologist and Saint Joseph’s University Broadcaster Joe Lunardi

Many of you know that March means Madness and the nation hangs on every word coming out of the College basketball world. The lucky high bidder will be vying for a unique opportunity to spend some quality time with the guru of NCAA Basketball Selection Sunday, ESPN’s Bracketologist Joe Lunardi. The package includes a game ticket to a mutually agreeable Saint Joseph’s University home basketball game during the 2016-17 season, the opportunity to participate/observe the pregame preparation in anticipation of a Saint Joseph’s University Hawks basketball broadcast, a prime seat adjacent to or on press row (depending on game) and one on one time with the Bracketologist himself. Joe will be broadcasting the Hawks game and you will be right in the middle of the action!  Joe is known across the sports world as the “go to guy” for who’s in and who’s out for the Big Dance. This is a unique opportunity for any college basketball fan. There may be a surprise addition or two depending on the game and the time of year but you will have to bid and win to find out!

–Golf threesome at the exclusive MERION Golf Club, host of the 2013 U.S. Open.  Mutually agreeable dates to be arranged.

–Golf threesome at the exclusive PLAINFIELD Country Club, home of the 2015 Barclays.  Mutually agreeable dates to be arranged.  (This item swooped up in advance by an interested bidder — and the donor offered a second threesome for our September tourney!)

–Philadelphia Eagles package

Once again, the Philadelphia Eagles will donate a package including game tickets, pregame field passes, parking and a jersey.   It is ALWAYS a crowd favorite, for good reason!

These are some ONCE IN A LIFETIME events! Consider golfing, then doing your holiday shopping a little early this year!

Is that all that is new?  Of course not!

We have a one week Orlando (Disney) condo stay for mutually agreeable dates….all you need to bring is your suntan lotion and your swim towels.

Like watching golf somewhere warm in the winter? We have passes to both:

• The January 9 – 15 Sony Open in Honolulu
• The January 26 – 29 Farmers Tourney in San Diego

Like other sports, too?  The Phillies are working on something for us, and the Wilmington Blue Rocks will donate a first pitch package.  And our hosts at Wyncote will donate a foursome!

Like hearing about sports?   Bid on the chance to sit in with Mike and Ike!

Is that all we will have?   Of course not; there will be so much more!   Some exciting items are in the pipeline…

We will post a draft program here just prior to the tournament, and hoped this sneak peek would be of interest.

Tickets are available here!

What will you be doing six months from today? We have you covered!

We are proud to announce our fourth annual golf tournament to benefit Kevin — it will be held on September 12, 2016, at Wyncote Golf Club.

For details, and to purchase event sponsorships, hole signs, and tickets to play and/or to have lunch, click here.

How lucky are we? Six months out, and…

• Brian Startare is back as emcee (and if you twist his arm, he MIGHT talk to you about Philadelphia sports)!
• Bill Burland is back hard at work wrangling golfers.
• A committee is at work, putting together what promises to be a great event.
• We already have 14 golfers, and three sponsors, registered.

A sneak peek at some auction items already in:

• A gift from the Philadelphia EAGLES (details to be revealed!)
• A $500 gift card from the incredible Sullivan’s Steakhouse
• A threesome and lunch at the exclusive Plainfield Country Club (home of the Barclays),
• Passes to the January 26 – 29, 2017 FARMERS Insurance Open in San Diego
• A gift from the Wilmington Blue Rocks
• A sit in for two with WIP’s Angelo Cataldi Morning show
• Bassetts Ice Cream, Chadds Ford Winery, Cinemark, Christiana Mall, GOLFSMITH, Longwood Gardens J&J Snacks, Johnny-O, Ricola, Salesianum, Splendies and WAWA have already promised to participate….and there will be so much more!

You don’t want to miss this event.

We’ve sold out each year….so buy now, and beat the last minute panic.

As always, all proceeds go to Kevin Neary’s special needs trust, to help him with his continued medical expenses.

Spread the word! We would be so grateful for your help in spreading the word about the tournament.  Tell your friends, tell their friends…

Don’t golf?  Consider coming for the lunch and program.

Have ideas to make this event better?   We’re listening — contact Chris and Denise at nearys51@comcast.net

We are delighted to announce that the fourth annual golf tournament to benefit Kevin will be held at Wyncote Golf Tournament on Monday, September 12, 2016.

PLEASE HOLD THE DATE!

An Eventbrite site will be set up early next year.

Questions about golf? Contact Bill, burlandbill@gmail.com

One of the high class dilemma of such a successful event is topping it — but we count on all of you. Do you have any connections you’d be willing to pursue for silent or live auction items, or for our FOKN swag bags? We could really use the help!

Contributions? Contact Chris Kelly, kellyc51@comcast.net

Any other questions? Please shoot an email to fokngolfinfo@gmail.com

We’re excited to let you know Kevin’s friend Erin has organized an event at Zavino University City. It’ll be fundraising happy hour to help the FOKN Runners — a group of folks committed to hitting the pavement to raise money for Kevin’s care. Come on out this Monday, November 16thfrom6:30 – 8:30 PM at the Zavino in University City!

There will be happy hour specials, and a gift basket to raffle off with a gift card to Zavino/Philly Runner and some wine. Erin will be donating all of her tips to the FOKN Runners fundraising effort. Also, be sure to look for FOKN runners participating in the Philly marathon/half marathon.

We’ll have more to announce about events later this week!

We are so excited for this coming Monday’s tournament! We wanted to share the full program so that you can start planning your bids.

If you’re not planning to attend the event, but would like to bid on a live auction item, get in touch with someone you know who will be going or Chris Neary (nearyc@gmail.com). We want everyone to be able to get in on these great opportunities provided by our generous sponsors!

Speaking of our sponsors, thanks to everyone who helped contribute. They’re listed in the program – take a look!

See you Monday.

FOKN GOLF program