Bo Tkach Tournament on May 5th
The 3rd Annual Bo Tkach Memorial Golf Tournament will take place on Wednesday, May 5 at Blue Ridge Country Club in Palmerton, to coincide with National Mental Health Month.
The tournament, which benefits OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder) and mental health awareness, will be held rain or shine with registration from 8:45 to 9 a.m. and a shotgun start at 10:15 a.m.
The dinner will start at 3 p.m. with presentations and awards to follow.
The featured speaker will be Larry Kindbom with special guests Matt Millen, Bo Orlando, Joe Wolf and Mike Guman. This is the foundation's biggest fundraiser.
Kindbom, the mastermind behind the renaissance of Washington University's football program, continues to carry the Bears to new heights.
Since assuming the head coaching reins in 1989, Kindbom has overhauled the Bears' gridiron program and has guided Washington University to the upper echelon of Division III football.
He was recently presented the 2009 Grant Teaff "Breaking the Silence" Award at the 2010 American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Convention in Orlando, Fla., because of his hard work and dedication to the prevention of youth suicide.
The Bo Tkach Memorial program has come a long way during the past year.
Jamie Drake has provided her leadership and time as to provide mental health assessments and counseling for young individuals who are not fortunate to have insurance. A year ago the program was started in Carbon County and now has expanded into Northwestern Lehigh, Catasauqua and Northern Lehigh School Districts. This past year in excess of 60 people received services from Bo's program.
The Bo Tkach Memorial again teamed up with Brett Snyder's Tackle ALS foundation to hold the flag football tournament at Northwestern Lehigh High School. This year's Alumni Flag games saw the communities of Catasauqua, Lehighton, Palmerton, Northwestern and Northern Lehigh come together to support the charities.
The generosity of college communities was evident as Wilkes University sponsored the Charity Challenge and will again do so this spring. Coach Keith Klahold of Wilkes organized the day's events with assistance from faculty, students and coaches. Ashley Irwin of King's College organized Bo Day at the Kings -Wilkes football game. The event featured an awareness area with brochures and literature on depression and suicide and a short bio of Bo's accomplishments and battle with depression was read to the crowd.
The "Under the Helmet" talk was presented 20 times last year. Our audiences included Mental Health Awareness day at Lehigh Valley Hospital, Community and school programs in addition to Collegiate athlete assemblies. The University of Michigan Depression Center continues to support us with educational materials.
Botkach.com has taken on an identity of its own with over 2,000 visits in the month of February. In addition, the donation of Rascal Flatts' music video 'Why" was received to use on our website from Lyric Street Records and Mr. Kirk Boyer. Support was also received from Mr. Alan Shamblin, co-writer of Rascal Flatts' song "Why".
The Tkach family is very appreciative of everyone's efforts as it continues to educate and provide care for the less fortunate.
Donations for the Bo Tkach Memorial Fund are accepted and administered by the Men of Marian, a non-profit organization. Please send checks, payable to the Men of Marian with "Bo Tkach Memorial" listed on the memo line, to: Men of Marian, 166 Marian Avenu, Tamaqua, PA 18252 Attn: William O'Gurek.
