Another year, another wildly successful golf tournament! It almost seems routine, but trust us when we say that the support from you all is extraordinary. We are beyond thrilled and grateful for such a fantastic turnout, donations (including some incredible auction items), and overall support you have shown for Kevin.

There were a number of highlights, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t give a special shoutout to Bill Burland for recruiting so many golfers and sponsors, Denise Neary for coordinating the auction and program, and Chris Kelly for his successful pinch-hit as emcee AND auctioneer extraordinaire!

We’re also grateful to the amazing committee and volunteers that organized the event. Like we said, it might seem routine — but that’s the result of the tireless work from our fantastic volunteers who secure auction items, line up golfers, and make the day run smoothly.

Thanks to all for your support! The funds raised by the great team effort at the event go a long way to meeting Kevin’s everyday care needs as well as enabling him to get out and about.

Check out some great pictures of the event below.

If you have any more photos from the event, send them over to Chris Neary at nearyc@gmail.com. It’d be great to post them on our Facebook page!

Golfers ready to head out on a beautiful morning

Local resident Ed Dougherty tells a story from his pro tour days to a packed house

Super volunteer Jan Tate and Kevin

Guests discuss their raffle strategy

Baby’s first FOKN tournament! Cousin Mike and Jake Dickert

Some of our great FOKN auction items

Mother-daughter supervolunteer duo!

Live auction items were a big hit

FORE! The tournament golf program is here! If you’re joining us on September 11th, you’ll want to check it out. Get a head start on our many great auction and raffle items. 

Golfing? Important info below – including new things this year!

On your way into Wyncote, stop at the Dunkin’ Donuts truck for a cup of coffee.

FOKN GOLF Program 2017

This post is in response to some frequently asked questions about our upcoming September 11 event.

You’ll find this information, and more, on our Eventbrite site by clicking here.

TICKET PRICES

We introduced EARLY BIRD pricing this year:

• Early bird single tickets are $125 (with an $8 fee)
• Early bird foursomes are $510 (with a $30 fee)

Early bird sales end on AUGUST 11.    After the 11th, ticket prices go up to $150 individual (plus fees), $550 foursome (plus fees).   ALL SALES END on September 2.

If you haven’t purchased tickets yet, there is no time like the present.

On the site, you can also purchase mulligans (not that you need them!) and sponsorships.

What’s the start time? We are starting at 8:30 on September 11!

What can you expect that day?

• Morning coffee from the Dunkin Donuts truck
• Volunteers at registration, providing good cheer and golf bags
• A chance to preview raffle, live and silent auction items
• Shotgun start at 8:30
• A spectacular day of golf on a world class course
• A Dixon golf game
• A barbecue lunch
• 50/50, raffles, and a silent auction
• A live auction program emceed by Brian Startare
• Kevin Neary!!!!

Any other questions about golf?  

Please contact Bill Burland at burlandbill@gmail.com or at 484.678.8000

DONORS, SPONSORS AND MORE

Please consider joining our growing honor roll of donors/sponsors and VIPs:

• Alliance Marketing and Kristi Crocker and Melissa Yakim  (Dunkin Donuts truck, gift basket and coupons)
• Aston Sunoco and Julie Narkin
• Barksdale Photography
• Bassetts Ice Cream and Michael  Strange
• Brandywine River Musem and Kathleen Barkasy
• Chaddsford Winery and Elaine Faso
• The Cheesecake Factory
• CobraPuma and Siobhan Howard
• DAS and Joe LaRose
• Delaware Theatre Company and Sarah Albrecht
• Dixon Golf
• Eastern State Penitentiary and Casey Paul
• Theresa and Donny Froio
• Gift on Wheels and Karen Thorp
• Tom Gilbert
• Hedgerow Theatre and Darlene McClellan
• The Honda Classic, Dana Johnson and Angelo Scarcetti
• Iron Hill Brewery and Kelly Regan
• J&J Snacks and Kristyn Castellante
• Johnnie-O and Kim Rohm
• Marianne Kaplan
• Chris Kelly and Denise Neary
• Kramer Portraits and Wendy Richards
• LaSalle University and John Lyons
• Limoncello
• Longwood Gardens and Monica Stazesky
• Lucky’s Coffee Shop and Matt Tyrawski
• Meet the Press
• Joe and Renee McGillian
• Deb and Phil Miller
• August Ober
• The National Constitution Center and Merissa Blum
• JP and Olivia Neary
• The Philadelphia Eagles
• The Philadelphia Flyers
• Painting with a Twist
• Jerry Quinn  (donating Villanova/Georgetown men’s basketball tickets!)
• Ricola and JoAnn Kislewski
• Salesianum and Nancy Meier and Brendan Kennealey
• Michael Szczerban
• Ken Seltzer
• The Shops at Liberty Place
• Sony Open
• Sproul Lanes and Sheila Biddle
• Brian Startare
• St. Joseph University and Mr. DiJulia
• Sullivans and Bill White
• Temple University
• Valcourt, Jon Capon and John Schiavello
• Wells Fargo Bank and Rachel Chapman
• Westfield Mall and Kimba Brown
• The Wilmington Blue Rocks
• Wyndham Hotels
• WOGL

Have auction items to donate?

Please contact Chris Kelly at kellyc51@comcast.net or at 301.613.8388.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

With thanks to the extraordinary effort of too many volunteers to mention, this golf tournament is a day of great golf, great fun and fellowship.

But we need your help!

• We need golfers!   Remember, early bird tickets end August 11.   ALL sales end on September 2.

*****Please, share the word about this event — we promise that no one who attends will be disappointed.

• We need event sponsors.   (Hard to say how much good cheer can be provided by a free beer after a morning of golf!
• We need contributions to our golfer SWAG bags, and our silent and live auctions.    Good for local businesses and great for us!  Donation cut-off date is August 11.   Let us know if you have ideas!

Thanks so much for your support and kindness!

This spring has afforded me many opportunities to enjoy significant events in my life as well as the chance to interact with people who have similar injuries as me. Hopefully, these will be part of a collection of experiences that provide me the opportunity to have a busy few months that will culminate in a wonderful golf tournament on September 11^th of this year.

First, on Saturday, April 29^th, we welcomed Lindsey Schwalb and her family into our extended family in a wonderful ceremony and reception. She is the perfect complement to Christopher and someone who has helped me in many ways since she has been an integral part of my brother’s life. I owe a special thank you to Lindsey and her parents, Steve and Laurie Schwalb, for having the event in the Delaware Valley.

Kevin giving a toast

The Dickert cousins!

Second, in a few weeks, May 28^th to be exact, my brother Joseph and his wife Olivia will celebrate their first of many anniversaries. It has been great to see the two of them grow together so much in one year of marriage.  Olivia and her parents, Stan and Kim Cotton, have been incredible additions to our family as well.

Last, I recently completed the peer mentoring training at Magee Rehabilitation Hospital and had the opportunity to meet with one patient so far. It was a rewarding experience for me and I hope, not only, was it beneficial for the patient, but it is something that I have the opportunity to do more of in the future.

As you can see, there has been plenty of excitement in the past few weeks. We look forward to the next few months of continued activity as well as good cheer. As the summer approaches, there will be plenty more activity as we look to continue our efforts to make our next golf outing a huge success on September 11^th. I hope to see you and your friends at the outing!

Just four months until our golf tournament…

And while we don’t want to spill the beans on everything we are working on for the event, this auction item is too good NOT to tell.

The Philadelphia Eagles, champion FOKN supporters, have come through again!

They’ll donate an autographed item AND FOUR club level tickets (and parking) to the Eagles v. 49ers game on 10/29 at 1:00 pm.

Join us on September 11 to bid on this fantastic item!

More soon!

Happy Spring!

A quick reminder about our upcoming September 11 golf tournament.  

We are delighted to announce that we already have 16 golfers signed up, and another 20 in the works.

Please remember that we are capping the event at 120 golfers this year, and early birds get a discount.  

Find out more by clicking here. 

Can you help with auction items?

We are starting our auction item solicitation in earnest, and would be grateful for the assistance of anyone reading this.

We already have some fantastic items in hand — more on that as the event date approaches.   (One significant “reveal” — the Dunkin’ Donuts truck will be at the event again!)

But we seek your help and support once again.   

Do you have a favorite restaurant that might be willing to make a gift of a gift card or special occasion?  Do you have “backstage” access to any Delaware Valley area events?   Contacts with museums, sports, special events?

Please let us know if you can help!  Our experience with our local community has overwhelmed us with your generosity.    

Thank you, and happy spring!

We have two quick exciting updates to share.

First, for those thinking about attending the Third Annual Joint Irish Christmas party to benefit Kevin, we wanted to let you know that we’ll be joined by special guest, Ben Davis from the Philadelphia Phillies! The link for registration can be found by clicking here.

We’ve also secured a date for next year’s golf tournament. So, mark your calendars for Monday, September 11th, 2017. We hope to see you there!

We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! The Neary family certainly has plenty to be thankful for — including support from our entire community.

With the holiday season underway, we wanted to share details for another year of a great event dedicated to Kevin’s benefit: the Third Annual Joint Irish Christmas Party. It’s always a good time, and we’re thrilled that the sponsors have once again chosen Kevin to benefit.

The event is Wednesday, December 14th, and it’ll be held at McFadden’s at the Ballpark. Details on the event, including how to buy tickets, are below.

The following is a post from Kevin Neary:

On Wednesday, we were fortunate enough to receive both a new bed and new mattress that were charitably donated by Leon Ariyan, a friend and former employer of mine at Worldwide Express. The mattress arrived two days earlier than expected, conveniently about a half an hour after the new bed was professionally assembled. Since I arrived home from Magee Rehabilitation Hospital in February 2012, I utilized a donated air mattress that was better and safer than the mattress I came home to. The model was discontinued and we were unable to have the mattress serviced when it needed repairs. Also, our old bed was definitely in need of an upgrade.

The new bed and mattress are for sure welcomed additions to my living arrangement, improving my quality of life significantly. Both the new bed and mattress are much quieter, more comfortable, easier for the nurses to operate, and more modern additions to my living area. As you can imagine, anything that is medical carries a significant level of investment, so these donations are quite a generous gesture.

For those of you who do not know Leon, as previously mentioned, not only did he his business partner hire me to my first sales position, he quickly became a friend. His outgoing personality is an attribute that enabled me to learn and reinforce sales techniques and habits that contributed to my professional successes. Through thick and thin, Leon has proven to be someone whose counsel and generosity have meant a ton to me. You may have met him at last year’s golf outing and noted his infectious personality.

In addition to these donations, Leon has contributed in other ways to my well-being, including golf threesomes to the prestigious Plainfield Country Club golf course in central New Jersey, that have generated a lot of interest and money on my behalf. I cannot thank him enough for his continued support and friendship. Thank you Leon for constantly being there, willing to do whatever you can on my behalf.

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!