Two grants were given from the Peter French Memorial Foundation this year, totaling $5,000. One was to the Sarver Heart Center at the University of Arizona for continued research in ARVD, and the other was to Johns Hopkins Fund for ARVD. Thank you to all who helped us build the Foundation. Please let us know if you hear about a person in dire need who could benefit from a grant.
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We switched our Love To ComPete tournament from basketball to 3v3 soccer this year, and it was a big success. It was held at Skillings Field in Winchester and featured 39 teams in divisions for GU-12, GU-14, Boys’ H.S., Girls’ H.S., and Men’s Open. Players came from all over the area, including western Mass. and Nashua, and enjoyed some very competitive soccer on two beautiful sunny days.
All proceeds from the tournament went to the Peter French Memorial Foundation, which gives grants to needy young adults and to ARVD research. This year’s tourney raised around $4,000. Chris ran another great March Madness pool (his 5th), which had 342 entries in the regular pool. The top seven people won prizes - they were (from 1 to 7) Jay Higgins, Rich Cody, Chris Hehn, Matt Fitzpatrick, Lynne Fussteig, Andy Nolan, and Nield Montgomery. The Sweet 16 pool had 136 entries, with prizes going to Sean Dowling, Chris Hehn, and Laura Davis. Thanks to all who entered, Pete's Foundation made over $2,000.
The trustees of the Peter French Memorial Foundation were pleased to be able to give two grants totaling $4,000 this year, one to Johns Hopkins Medicine to fund continued research in ARVD and the other to the Sarver Heart Center at the University of Arizona to help fund a critical symposium on ARVD in May of 2007.
Mike Morris presented another of his famous benefit Halloween Parties. Each year he donates all proceeds to charity, and this year the Peter French Memorial Foundation was a beneficiary of half of the proceeds, totaling $1,300. Many thanks to Mike (and to Van, for volunteering to DJ for the night)!
The 5th Annual Peter French Memorial Golf Tournament was held at the Jamestown Golf Course in RI. Van again organized this fun tournament, where lots of Pete's friends got together for a day/weekend back in the old haunts of Newport. After a competitive match among the nine foursomes, the winning team was "Better Without JK", including Rob Thatford, CJ (Chris Joseph), Mike Morris, and Ken J. They ended up -4 in this "best ball" tourney. A barbeque followed, with a raffle for 4 Celtics tickets (courtesy of Julie DelMastro). All proceeds went to Pete's Foundation. Hopefully, this jovial tradition will continue, though probably it will move to Massachusetts.
Chris again organized and directed Love To ComPete, the 2nd annual 3 on 3 basketball tournament, which was held at the Manchester Field courts in Winchester. Teams from the Greater Boston area competed in two divisions - Boys' High School and Men's Open. The Men's Open division winners were Team Netgain, led by former Miami star Anthony Taylor. The winners of the Boys' High School division were the Silver Palate, a group from Chelmsford High School. We had quite a few sponsors this year, so we were able to raise about $2,800 for Pete's Foundation. Many thanks go to Coach Quinton Dale (Pete's H.S. coach) for helping with the planning and day-of organization. Our volunteers were a tremendous help, and we especially appreciate the time Pete's close friend Dean McClearn put in.
Chris organized the 4th Annual Peter French Memorial March Madness Pool. For the 4th straight year, the number of participants increased as this year's total reached 292. With half of everyone's entry fee going to the Foundation and other generous donations along the way, we were able to raise $2,645. Many thanks to everyone who participated!
Since there were no applicants for temporary financial assistance, the Foundation was able to disburse $2,000 to Johns Hopkins Medicine for ARVD Research. We hope that you will continue to keep the Foundation in mind for any possible future recipients (see Foundation page for eligibility requirements).
A metal sculpture of Peter was dedicated outside McCall Middle School in Winchester as a gift to Mr. French. It shows a likeness of Pete in action that many of you will recognize. We wish to thank the Winchester ABC (A Better Chance) Program for sponsoring the fundraising effort that led to the sculpture, the Department of Public Works for placement in the ground, and especially Madeleine Lord, the highly talented sculptress who donated her services for this project and did such a marvelous job of capturing Peter's spirit.
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