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.

 

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!

An official announcement about our 5th annual FOKN golf outing! We are happy to share that the next installment of FOKN golfing will occur on Monday, September 11th.

Please visit the following link for all of the pertinent details: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fokn-golfin-2017-tickets-32679447106

Here is what is new:
– The event will be capped at 120 golfers
– We will tee off at 8:30 am
– We have early bird pricing through August 11th!
– We will have Dixon Golf sponsoring only one event this year

Many of those changes designed to make the tournament seamless.

Here is what all golfers can count on:
– A great tournament full of fun and fellowship
– A great MC in Brian Startare
– 50/50 raffles
– Silent and live auction items
– And of course Kevin

Hope to see you there!

The FOKN Committee

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.

December 14th: Third Annual Joint Irish Christmas Party for the Benefit of our Friend, Kevin Neary The Brehon Law Society, Irish Network Philadelphia, and the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick cordially invite you to our Third Annual Joint Irish Christmas Party for the Benefit of our Friend, Kevin Neary. Wednesday, December 14, 2016 6pm-9pm McFadden’s at the Ballpark 1 Citizens Bank Way, Philadelphia, PA 19148 In this Season of Thankfulness, Family, and Giving, please come out to celebrate Christmas and network with your Irish friends and colleagues; and most importantly, to celebrate and support our friend, Kevin Neary. LIVE MUSIC from Fan Favorite: IRISH MIST BAND Open Bar (Beer and Wine) Heavy Appetizers and Hors D’oeuvres FREE PARKING Admission: $50, with all proceeds to be donated to Kevin Neary Purchase tickets on Eventbrite: https://goo.gl/lC3lMV (or click on hyperlink below) Sponsorship Opportunities available; Please contact James Quinlan @ Quinlan@BlankRome.com with any questions. Purchase Tickets Here

Today, November 15^th, marks five years since the day that Kevin was assaulted.  If you are reading this you probably know the story and we don’t want to bring up all those details as that isn’t the point of this post.

Our family would like to thank each and every one of you for your support. From day one, we have had the love and support of old friends, neighbors, new friends, and so many whom we have never met but who have been touched by Kevin’s ordeal but more importantly have been inspired by his courage and example. We have been graced with friends who regularly visit, who regularly contribute to his care both financially and emotionally, and the large group of volunteers who have annually run the golf tournament and have made it a huge, successful event. We have been fortunate to have had a group of doctors and nurses across many disciplines who have taken a special interest in Kevin’s well-being and who have taken extra time each visit to discuss his health, his concerns, and, invariably, the Phils, Sixers, or Eagles depending on the season.

We could not have done this without all of you and we will be eternally grateful for your love and support.

Thanks,

The Neary Family

 

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!

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!