My friends,

I need your help.

I am raising funds for my Special Olympics East Valley Golf program. We have 32 Special Olympics golfers that have a passion for playing golf. Each athlete plays on a team, typically with a parent or good friend, year round at many challenging courses in Arizona. This year we will be playing at Sun City CC, Omni National in Tucson, Antelope Hills in Prescott, Longbow in Mesa, Oak Creek CC in Sedona, Augusta Ranch in Mesa, and Whirlwind in Chandler. All of the funds raised will go to support this special year round golf program. These funds also enable us to participate in the Special Olympics National Invitational Golf Tournament if we are lucky enough to be selected. The National Tournament is 3 days and, like the PGA, we cannot use golf carts. So it can be very challenging.

I am a 31 year old guy with a lot of enthusiasm and a little bit of Down Syndrome. My days are spent volunteering @ Mingus Union H.S.in the Special Education classroom,as well as working @ Fry's Food store as a courtesy clerk. But my real love is sports of every kind. I joined Special Olympics in 1999 and have competed in golf, bowling, tennis, track, basketball, softball and floor hockey. At home I am an avid fan of WWE as well as an amateur statistician for every college and professional football and basketball game. But stay on my good side, because I also have a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.

How can you help?

The Thunderbirds have given us a great opportunity to raise funds by matching all donations by an additional 15%. One hundred percent of the funds stay in our Special Olympics golf program and enable us to continue to play golf and improve our game. Your help comes from sponsoring me with a one time donation, or  a Pledge per Birdie for the 4 days of the Tournament.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Ian