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.