Organizers of a May golf tournament presented a check for $100,000 on Monday to officials with the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
A Zoom meeting held at Tapatio Springs Monday linked the organizers of the local “Swing Strong ‘Til It’s Gone” golf tourney in Boerne with Maci Hanson, associate director of community fundraising for the Fox Foundation in Chicago.
Barry Halbert, board member of the Boerne charity fundraiser, said the donation amount more than tripled its previous effort.
“Last year we raised $30,000 and made a donation to the Michael J. Fox Foundation,” Halbert said. “We got a little better, we added a live auction, we added new members and more golfers, and hit $100,000 this year.”
The Michael J. Fox Foundation formed in 1997 following the renowned actor’s diagnosis a few years earlier. Hanson said more than 300 events are held nationwide – golf tournaments, concerts, etc. -- to raise money for further research into Parkinson's, a progressive disorder that is caused by degeneration of nerve cells in the part of the brain.
Halbert gave credit to Sean Jahr, a Tapatio Springs golf member who has been battling the disease for more than two decades, for bringing the idea to fruition.
“Sean was the reason we got this thing together. He's been suffering with Parkinson's for 20 years. He asked a bunch of members to put together an event that raised money for fighting Parkinson's,” he said.
“Maci has been a big supporter. She came down and actually told us where the money went, which helped us get more money” Halbert said.
Jahr, a former track star in high school and football player at the University of Montana, was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson's Disease at age 38.
Since then, he’s dedicated himself to staying as active as possible. As his disease progressed, he underwent deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery in June 2020. Two months later, he joined Tapatio Springs Resort and began playing golf daily with the men's group.
On Jan. 5, 2021, he celebrated his first hole-in-one after living with the disease for two decades.
“I met up with some friends in Lake Tahoe for a golf event and came up with the idea of building a foundation,” Jahr said. “Going into our third year, I never would have thought of having a $100,000 day.”
A live auction held the same day as the golf tourney brought in more than $22,000 alone, Hilbert said. Partnering with Tapatio Springs brought in more golfers, who were made aware of Parkinson’s and the struggles for Jahr and others.
The bar has been raised even higher for next year, with a goal of $200,000 for the already-planned May 16-17, 2024, tourney.
Jahr said the organization is going to focus on increasing sponsorship for next year.
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