Tornado Defenseman Gives Back to CMC Patient
February 16, 2012 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Texas Tornado News Release
On the weekend of January 13th, the Texas Tornado held their annual Winterfest to benefit Children's Medical Center. The players donned special retro jerseys for the weekend's two games, ones worn from the team's inaugural season in 1999 until 2003. With wins in both contests, the games were an on-ice success for the Tornado. But what happened off of it is what made the event noteworthy.
"Children's Medical Center and the Tornado worked together on a successful event back in 2010," Development Manager for Children's Medical Center Kyra Barnett said. "In talking with the people with the team, we were excited to do another one here in early 2012."
As is typical with most sports jerseys, the last name of the player was visible on the back of each Tornado jersey worn during Winterfest. But as a special addition, each one was also affixed with the first name of a Children's Medical Center patient. Tornado defenseman Mychal Monteith's #5 sweater had the name "Chase" along the bottom.
"When we were setting the event up, I asked for a list of our patients who might be interested in having their name on the jersey," Barnett said. "When I got it back, Chase was one of the names that came my way."
"Chase" is 13-year-old Chase Adams, and is an athlete in his own right. In fact, he came to Children's Medical Center after a he suffered a severe concussion in a soccer game.
"When I found out my name was going to be on the jersey, I thought it was pretty cool," Chase said. "Everyone's going to know my name now!"
"Children's Medical Center contacted us and said that Chase's name had been chosen for the event," Chase's father, James, added. "And we were also told that the jerseys would be available for auction."
In addition to a portion of ticket sales going back to Children's Medical Center, the Tornado auctioned off each game-worn jersey and donated a portion of those proceeds to the hospital, as well. When Monteith's jersey went up for bidding, he and his family had a plan.
"My mom bought two-thirds of the jersey and my billet mom bought the other one-third," Monteith said. "We wanted to give it to Chase."
"My dad told me over dinner one night that he had bought the jersey and wanted to give it to me," Chase said. "My first thought was that I hoped I could get to meet him. Sure enough, the next thing my dad said was that he wants to meet you and give you the jersey."
The Adams family was unable to attend the game and auction on January 14th, but after Wednesday afternoon's practice, the Adams family made the short drive from Allen to Dr Pepper Arena in Frisco to meet Monteith for the first time. When they walked through the doors, Monteith was waiting for them with jersey in hand. They chatted not just about hockey pucks and rinks, but the soccer fields on which Chase plays, as well.
"This was a really fulfilling experience," Monteith said. "It felt good to give back to the community and really puts things in perspective."
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