Thanks to Roosters on West Broad Street in Columbus!

I would personally like to thank the West Broad street Roosters location in Columbus, Ohio for their generous contribution to Brady's Team. The West Broad Street location has an annual golf outing for charity. Bobbi Weber, the manager at this Roosters and our neighbor asked if they could donate money from their charity golf outing to Brady's Team and Autism Speaks. Obviously we were thrilled that Bobbi would consider us. But we were even more thrilled with the outcome. The golf outing raised way more than we expected and we recently received a check from the Roosters Foundation for $3850.87! Thank you so much to Bobbi and the entire Roosters Foundation. We are very happy and overwhelmed by your support!

This has taken our total amount of donations for Brady's team to $7,358.87! This is well above our goal of $5,000 and over double last year's contributions for Brady's Team. This made us the 11th ranked team in 2009 for the Columbus walk.

Thanks again to Roosters and Bobbi Weber! And thanks to everyone else who made Brady's Team for the 2009 Walk Now for Autism a huge success!

We will be posting pictures from the actual 2009 walk shortly. Thanks again and we're looking forward to 2010!

Derrick

Thanks to Everyone for a Huge Sucess!

Betsy and I would like to start off this post by thanking everyone for all of the contributions, donations, and help you all provided for this year's tournament. It's because of you that this year was a HUGE success. There were a total of 45 teams in this year's tournament. Due to the number of teams, we decided to remove the "bust rule". The first team to 21 won. We made it thru the double elimination format in about 5 hours......not too bad for 45 teams. When the dust settled, here were the results:


1st place
Nate Parsons and Ryan Poling

2nd place
Justin Friesner & John Weber

3rd place
Jill and Stoyan (Stoy) Dulgeroff

Top co-ed couple
Jill & Stoy Dulgeroff (this is the first time in the 2 years that we have had a co-ed prize, that the top co-ed couple was also in the top 3 overall)

50/50 raffle
The total amount raised in the raffle was $909. Brenda Buchwalter (Betsy's mom) won the 50/50 and was entitled to $455, but Brenda was kind enough to donate that money back to Brady's Team and Walk Now for Autism.


Stats
- Total number of donations to Brady's Team prior to the tournament - $605
- Money raused at the cornhole tournament - $2,190
- Total funds raised for Brady's Team - $2,795

- Once we submit these funds to Walk Now for Autism, we will be the 2nd highest ranked team in Columbus to date for funds raised.

*This is the most we have raised for any cornhole tournament. Although last year we stated raising > $3,000, a large portion of that was a result of the matching contribution from JP Morgan Chase. This was the largest amount of "raw" funds raised to date for the tournament.

Other Stats
- We went thru 3 kegs, 25 pizzas, 200 wings, several appetizers, and another 30 tacos after a late night run to Taco Bell around 11pm.

- My keg stand was only 8-9 seconds (although I did 2 at 8 seconds). For the record, they didn't start counting until at least 3 seconds after I started and they counted extermely slowly. Also I did the keg stand on the 3rd keg. Is that enough excuses for you?

Thanks again to everyone. We really appreciate everything! We will update the blog with pictures, etc soon! We look forward to seeing you at the 2nd Annual Walk Now for Autism walk at Jerome Schottenstein Center on Sunday, October 11, 2009.

Hope to see you then!

Derrick & Betsy Long

Update! 5 Days to go!

With 5 days to go until the tournament, things are starting to come together nicely. It looks like we will have 40+ teams. Please try to be there by 3:30pm so we can get the tournament started on time. If any of you have cornhole boards, feel free to bring them as we should be able to get 6 matches going at a time. As of today, the weather forecast looks to be nice for Saturday (knock on wood). However, if that changes we intend on playing rain or shine! In addition to the tournament, we will also have a 50/50 raffle and a mini cornhole challenge for those interested. Again - all money raised goes towards Walk Now for Autism.

For those who have yet to sign up, it's not too late! You can sign up up to the date of the event. Or you can just show up and we can fit you in. Can't wait to see you all there!

Below is a list of donations to date for the tournament:

Prizes

- A GPS system (Gogotech.com / Courtesy of Nat Long)

- A Dell Mini Laoptop (Partstock Computers / Courtesy of Ben Buchwalter)

- 4 Club Seats and Parking pass to Clippers game

- 2 Private Dance Lessons (Dance Plus Ballroom)

- Gift card / gift bag from the Candle Lab

- Gift Certificate to Figlio Grandview

- Gift Cards to King on Five

- Gift Card to Jimmy V's

- Gift Card to Red Door Tavern

- Gift Card to Shamrock Golf Club

- Victoria Secret and Bath & Body Works Gift Basket - courtesy of Brian Jensen and Trisha Kaighin

- Gift Card to North Star Cafe / 3rd and Hollywood - courtesy of Matt and Holly Cline

Food

- Grandad's Pizza (courtesy of Grandad's / Byrne's Pub - Brian Byrne)

- Roosters wings (courtesy of Bobbi Weber)

- 2 kegs of Miller Lite and beer coozies (provided by your generous party host:-)

More Donations / Commitments!

Hi everyone! We have had a good week in gathering donations for this year's tournament! In addition to the donations listed in the previous post, we have alos received donations from the following places:

- King on Five

- Red Door Tavern

- Jimmy V's

Also, Byrne's Pub and Grandad's Pizza have been kind enough to donate the pizza for the event for the second straight year. Thanks Byrne!

We also have over 30 teams signed up to play in this year's tournament. More to come soon!

Just Over 2 Weeks Until Tournament!

With just over 2 weeks until the tournament, 20 teams have RSVP'd. I know several others have told me they plan on attending but have not yet actually RSVP'd. Please do so if you haven't already. Here are some of the donations we have received to this point:

1. A GPS system
2. 4 Club Seats and a parking pass for a Clippers game
3. 2 private dance lessons
4. A gift card / gift bag from the Candle Lab

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this point! Thanks to you we have alrady raised almost $500 before the tournament even begins. Your contributions are greatly appreciated. Hope to see you all soon in just over 2 weeks!

Tournament is 3 Weeks Away - Please be sure to RSVP!

Hi All! There are now just under 3 weeks remaining until the Tournament. As of today, only 15 teams have RSVP'd on the site. Several others of you have informed me that they plan to attend but have yet to RSVP. Please be sure to RSVP as soon as you can. It helps us determine the following things:

1. How many kegs to get
2. How many pizzas to order
3. How many beer coozies to order
4. It helps us prepare ahead of time for the creation of the tournament brackets

It's very easy, just click the link on the right of the page. It only takes seconds. Thanks and looking forward to a great tournament.

New way to RSVP for this year's Tournament

I have added a new way to RSVP for this year's tournament. Please click the link to the right that reads "RSVP for this year's Tournament!" to RSVP. I will periodically post the number of teams we have RSVP's. Thanks and we hope to see you at our house on August 1.

2008 Pictures!

Finally we have posted pictures from the 4th Annual Cornhole Tournament for Autism (2008). Feel free to take a look!

SAVE THE DATE!

The date for the 5th Annual Cornhole Tournament for Autism is set. This year's event is scheduled for Saturday, August 1, 2009 starting at 3:30pm. Please save the date! The event will take place at our new house, located at 1495 Wyandotte Rd. in Columbus, OH 43212. We are hoping for the biggest turnout ever! As always the cost per team is $20. We are working on getting our sponsors for this year's event. We will post more info to this blog once we get it. To RSVP feel free to send me an email at derrickslong@gmail.com or call or text to 614-537-6248. Feel free to forward this on to anyone you feel might be interested in participating. If you cannot attend and would like to donate, see the links to the right. Thanks to everyone who has already made a donation for our 2009 team to date.

Clay Marzo - Just Add Water

I found a really cool article on Clay Marzo. Clay is one of the best surfers in the world. Clay also has Asperger's Syndrome, a high functioning form of Autism. Quiksilver made a movie about his life called "Just Add Water", and it won the Best Biography category at the 2009 X-Dance Film Festival. I gotta buy this. Here is an article about it from last year before it was released:

http://archives.starbulletin.com/2008/08/30/features/story01.html

You can watch the trailer at the following site:

http://surf.quiksilver.com/films/index.aspx

2nd Annual World Autism Awareness Day

Hi All. Thursday, April 2nd marks the Second Annual World Autism Day. World Autism Day is a global effort to heighten awareness about a disorder affecting millions of individuals and families around the world - including mine. WAAD is a result of a resolution passed unanimously by the United Nations General Assembly in 2008, making autism one of only three health issues to be recognized by the UN with its own “day.”

I would ask that you each take a moment on April 2nd to try to learn about autism and become aware and more accepting of those who have autism. There are several events that will take place on April 2nd and throughout all of April all over the world to make the world more aware of Autism and its effects. A list of published events can be found at the following web site:

http://www.worldautismawarenessday.org/site/c.egLMI2ODKpF/b.3917065/k.BE58/Home.htm

As always, Betsy and I will hold our Annual Cornhole Tournament in the late summer / early fall where all proceeds go to Brady's Team - a team in honor of our son Brady who was diagnosed with Autism shortly after his second birthday. We are also considering planning another fundraising event in the spring. However, if you feel the need to make a contribution prior to those events, feel free to do so thru the link to the right titled "Make a Donation to Brady's Team for 2009".

Last year our team raised over $3,000 and our goal is to top $5,000 in 2009.

We are looking forward to a great 2009 for raising Autism Awareness.

Date / Location of 5th Annual Cornhole Tournament for Autism

The date / time / location for the 5th Annual Cornole Tournament for Autism is yet to be determined. It will be sometime in the late summer / early fall of 2009. The goal for 2009 is to raise over $5,000. We will post updates as decisions are made.

The 4th Annual Cornhole Tournament for Autism (2008)

The 4th Annual Cornhole Tournament for Autism in 2008 was the best ever. We decided to make some changes to this year's. Since in the past every winner contributed all of their winnings to Autism Speaks, we decided to have all of the money go towards Autism Speaks / Walk Now for Autism up front and find local business that would be willing to donate items to the winners. Here were the companies / individuals who contributed awards:

• The Candle Lab
• The Shamrock Golf Club
• Dance Plus Ballroom
• Peabody Papers
• Figlio / Vino Vino
• Kinsale Golf Club - courtesy of Tim Daly
• Gogotech (a digital picture frame) - courtesy of my brother Nat Long
• Danny Harris
• Pizza sponsored by Byrne's Pub and Grandad's Pizza

Another major change is in the past the money has gone directly to Autism Speaks. This year, the Innaugural Columbus, Ohio Walk Now for Autism event had been scheduled for October 12, 2008. As part of this fundraising event, we created a team (Brady's Team) to see which team can donate the most money for autism. In the end, all of the money still goes to Autism Speaks. But it added a fun competitive spirit to the fundraising.

Also, since in 2007 we received so many random donations from non cornhole participants, we decided to add other ways to raise money including a 50/50 drawing. We also recognize the top co-ed couple since there have been in increasing number of same sex couples. Other changes we might mention.......(1) 2 kegs this year instead of 1 (2) a bigger trophy to the winner, (3) 'Walk Now for Autism' beer coozies with the past champions names on them. A little more organization and a little more preparation went a long way this year. We had 33 teams and several other 'observers'.

In the end we raised over $3000. Wow! Here were the top 3 finshers:

1. Mr. Jeff Roberts and Brian Slaven
2. Ryan Huss and Chris Mackey
3. Joe Looney and Jerry Long (my brother)

The top co-ed couple were our next door neighbors, Dustin and Patty Gardner. The 50/50 drawing was won by their son, Tyler Gardner (3rd grade) - who I rememebr paying me in quarters. Tyler even gave back some of the winnings to the charity. I increased my keg stand from 11 seconds to 14 seconds - which no one could top. Actually only 1 person tried - my brother Jerry - who claimed the ice was too cold on his hands. Pictures from the event will be posted to the blog soon.

On a side note, I attended a Walk Now for Autism Speaks event in January of 2009 where I received a plaque for Brady's Team raising between $2,500 - $5,000. It was definitely quite an honor and most of it was a result of the Cornhole Tournament and all of your support. having said that, our goal for 2009 is to raise over $5,000. Thanks again and we're looking forward to next year (and a 17 second keg stand).

The Annual Cornhole Tournament for Autism - History (2005-2007)

The first annual Cornhole Tournament for Autism just kind of happened. Actually - the original intent was not even to be a charity event if I remember correctly. It was the summer of 2005. We wanted to have a get together at our house. We had also discussed with friends that it would be great to have a cornhole tournament. We decided to have a tournament the last weekend in August before the Ohio State football season started. It was $20 a couple and winner take all. We encouraged all couples to be co-ed to keep it fair and fun, but we did have one all male teams (Team Sensitive). Last minute, our friends Timmy Roberts and Julie Frederick (now Julie Roberts) recommended that half of the winnings go to the winner while the other half go to a charity of our the winner's choice. We gathered maybe 9 or 10 couples at most, got a keg of beer and ordered pizzas and oragnized a double elimination (best 2 out of 3) tournament. As you can imagine, best 2 of out 3 double elimination took a while to finish. I think we started around 3pm, and we had to bring out lights to finish the competition because it was so dark. In the end......wouldn't you know it, Timmy and Julie ended up being the winners (did I mention Betsy and I came in second?). Knowing our situation with Brady recently being diagnosed with autism, Timmy and Julie opted to donate all of their winnings to the Autism Society of Ohio. I think the total donation ended up being about $180 if i recall correctly. Timmy and Julie are the godfathers of the tournament if you will.

This is how it all started. The 2nd Annual Cornhole Tournament for Autism in 2006 was very similar to the first. There were a limited number of couples.....possibly 15 teams? Although this year we did advertise that the money would go towards Autism Speaks. But the format was still the same.......double elimination (best 2 out of 3). This year we decided to get a trophy for the winners and also get one for last year's winners. Again the tournament ran long but it was a good time had by all. After a second place finish in 2005, Betsy and I won the 2006 tournament and we chose to donate all of our winngs to Autism Speaks. I really don't recall the amount, but I think it was somewhere around $300.

The 3rd Annual Cornhole Tournament for Autism in 2007 is where it really started to grow. Again, I don't recall a lot of the details, but I am thinking it was close to 20 teams. It might have had something to do with the numerous beers consumed and my 11 second keg stand where I was dropped on my head by my 'friends'. I admit 11 seconds is very weak, but I do not claim to be a very good chugger of beer. This year we changed the format to double elmimination, but eliminated the best 2 out of 3 and substituted that you must hit 21 on the nose. It added a fun twist and yet reduced the amount of time it took to complete the tournament. There was even an hour delay due to thunderstorms and tornados in the area. For those that were there, they know how small our house was. It wasn't easy to fit everyone into our house.

The new twist in this year's tournament is that several people (even those who did not participate) made donations to Autism Speaks. In the end it was Amos and Drew (don't know the last names - they were friends of friends) who took home the trophy. As has been the case with the winners in the past, Drew and Amos chose to donate all of their winnings to Autism Speaks - not keep any winnings to themselves. For the record, Betsy and I came in 3rd place (top co-ed couple). That's 2nd, 1st, 3rd in 3 years. We can't be stopped. Again - I don't remember the exact amount, but I think we raised somewhere around $800 in 2007.

But the best is yet to come...................

About Brady

Our son Brady was diagnosed with autism shortly after his second birthday. He didn’t walk until the week before his second birthday. He was nonverbal until he was almost 3 years old. His tantrums were uncontrollable. His obsessions and rigidity brought about extreme frustration. His flapping was and still is hard to control. When we received Brady’s diagnosis, it was very very difficult on us. Knowing that Brady was having challenges, we had been researching Autism, so when he was diagnosed we took immediate action. All books repeatedly mentioned the importance of early intervention. We jumped right in to do whatever we could to bring Brady out of his own world, monopolize on his strengths, and tackle his challenges. Since he was diagnosed about nine years ago (Brady is now 11), Brady has spent thousands of hours in physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and ABA therapy with the ongoing support of the Nationwide Columbus Children's Autism Center. Brady has attended a pre-school for children with developmental delays, he has attended summer ‘buddy camps’ for children with autism. He has had his therapists come into his daycare, classroom, and "Kids Club" and into our home frequently to assist with his progress, specifically in social situations.

Brady has shown fabulous progress and has just completed the 5th grade at Grandview Heights public schools. Brady has done really well in this transition and is doing well academically and continues to get better socially - which is and will continue to be his greatest challenge.  Brady loves playing soccer, baseball, and basketball with his friends. He also loves video games and movies, as most kids do. Brady has autism but autism does not define him. In fact, 90% of the time you probably would not know he has autism. He is a very special, loving boy. While Brady has made a lot of progress, we realize that autism is a life long disability. There continue to be many challenges Brady and all who know him face on a daily basis. The unknowns of the future are scary, but the progress that he has made continues to bring us hope.

We realize we are very fortunate. Not many autistic children are lucky enough to get an early diagnosis or receive early intervention. Even if they do – there is no guarantee that early intervention will produce the results that we have been fortunate enough to see in Brady. We have a great support group of therapists and a great group of family and friends that have been instrumental in Brady’s progress. Brady’s improvement has been exceptional and we look for more great things from him in the future.