RiverKings and Xplorers to participate in celebrity golf tourney

Published on May 13, 2005 under arenafootball2 (af2)
Memphis Xplorers News Release


SOUTHAVEN—The Memphis Xplorers and RiverKings will participate in the "Give A Kid A Chance To Be A Kid!" charity golf tournament benefiting DeSoto County Schools' program for Autism Early Intervention Education on May 19 at the Club at North Creek.

The tournament begins at 11:30 with lunch with students and staff from the program, followed by a shotgun start at 12:45 p.m. After the tournament golfers may take advantage of a post-tournament dinner and awards banquet. The tournament is a four-person scramble format comprised of a 3-person team along with a celebrity and is limited to 36 teams.

Prizes include four limited-edition John Daly replica golf bags; gift certificates; rounds of golf at Wedgewood and Cottonwood Golf Courses for all par 3 holes; and a Calloway putter, balls and bag for the putting contest.

Cost is $750 per team, with 100 percent of the entry fee benefiting the Autism Early Intervention Program. All donations are completely tax-deductible, thanks to cooperation with the DeSoto Economic Council's Foundation for Excellence in Education.

For Wayne Bartley, Johnny Coleman Builders partner and tournament chairperson, the tournament has special significance. His son Justin, 8, is autistic and participates in the Autism Early Intervention Program at DeSoto Central Elementary School.

"Autism is a spectrum disorder, which means its characteristics and symptoms can either be very mild or very severe," Bartley said. "Each child is different - they're like snowflakes. That can be very frustrating because you really don't know what is going to work with your child.

"You as a parent are in this huge trial and error process to help your child. Each child's treatment and learning program must be tailored to that particular child. It takes a lot of perseverance."

Autism is a neurological disorder, the third most common developmental disorder in today's society. Characteristics of autism are most noticeable in communication, which is made with difficulty. Autistic children also have difficulty playing, whether alone or in groups; interacting with others is not easy.

"These kids are incredibly bright, but they can't understand the concept of play and games – they don't understand jokes and humor," Bartley said.

The DeSoto County program serves more than 80 children with autism spectrum disorders, an amount that is rapidly increasing due to better diagnostic evaluations and a burgeoning school system, fueled by an average of seven families relocating to the DeSoto County area each day.

Funds from the tournament are used to hire teachers' aides, bring in speakers and send teachers to training, so they can have the most up-to-date information and intervention therapies at their disposal.

Any extra funds are used for alternative therapy programs. For instance, Bartley was able to enroll a number of the children in six weeks of karate classes at John Wade's Karate and Gymnastics in Southaven last year.

"The children thrived on the structure involved in the karate routines," Bartley said. "There were many of them that rarely speak or show emotion; but after the classes, they would walk up to me and tell me with excitement in their eyes thank you and how much they liked karate. It opened up doors of communication. None of that would have been possible without the generosity of people involved in this tournament."

Bartley said programs like DeSoto County Schools' Autism Early Intervention Program are unusual because the children all have access to the same benefits, no matter their socio-economic level. However, the key component to the program's success is the commitment of the administrators.

"As a parent, all you can really ask for is someone to love and care about your children," Bartley said. "If someone really cares about them, everything else will fall into place. The teachers have given a lot of themselves, and if they want to have the tools to give these children the best they can, then we want to spend the money to do it."

Openings are still available for teams and donations. For more information, call Bartley at 901-550-1351.

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