Editor's Message

Here it is, the end of May. The unseasonably cool weather that has enveloped us these past few weeks has (we hope!) finally given way to the warmth we expect this time of year.

May also used to signal the start of TRC’s busy season, but in recent years, the calendar has been filling up earlier and earlier. Already this year we’ve enjoyed our first Educational Summit on Autism, an event that attracted more than 260 people who wanted to learn more about autism spectrum disorder. And just last week, we held our third annual TRC Expo, an event designed to help everyone – TRC staff, service recipients, family members, and the general public – learn more about the services our agency provides.

Now, the more traditional events kick in. The 12th annual Gus Macker 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament tips off the weekend of June 6-8. More than 530 teams will take part in this festival of street basketball. If you’ve never experienced Macker Weekend, I encourage you to come to downtown Jamestown next weekend to witness the spectacle – 2,000-plus players, thousands of spectators and exciting basketball action spread out over more than 30 courts. Be sure to be there at about 5:45 Saturday to watch a local group of disabled athletes demonstrate their basketball skills as they prepare for the New York State Special Olympics Games. And if while attending the basketball tournament you suddenly find yourself filled with Macker Spirit, there are opportunities to help out by volunteering to keep score on one of the courts.

Our next big event of the summer is the 12th annual Laurel Run, which takes place July 18 and 19. Join us on Friday, July 18, for the traditional Jamestown-to-Dunkirk Relay Run, in which representatives from area schools take part. We’ll start off at TRC’s facility on Jones & Gifford Avenue in Jamestown at about 8:30 a.m., then finish up with a victory celebration at City Hall hosted by the City of Dunkirk. The following day in Silver Creek will be a 5-kilometer fitness walk, a 1-kilometer fun walk, an 8k run, children’s runs, and “Laurel’s Lap”, in which anyone with a disability is invited to take a lap around the track at the village ballfield. We’ll also have a party in the Village Square, and new this year will be a Laurel Run Motorcycle Dice Run. Laurel Run founders Wayne and Elaine Hotelling invite you to join them for Laurel Run, which is named for their oldest daughter. Proceeds raise money for TRC’s disability awareness and prevention efforts and provide employment and work training opportunities for adults with disabilities.

Those wishing to support Laurel Run beforehand can do so in one of two ways. Again this year, paper sneakers will be sold at participating Kwik Fill/Red Apple Food Mart locations in Western New York and Warren County, PA. And on July 9, the Observer newspaper in Dunkirk will sell a special “Laurel Run” edition. Both of these fund-raisers were extremely successful last year, and we hope area residents will support these efforts again in 2008.

August 11 brings the 12th annual Carl Cappa Memorial Classic. This tournament, which was created by the late businessman and philanthropist Carl Cappa, is held at Moon Brook Country Club in Jamestown. Having netted more than $900,000 for TRC Foundation in its first 11 years, the Cappa Classic is within striking distance of reaching $1 million. So, tournament organizers have created the “Drive for a Million” campaign in hopes of achieving that goal this year.

If you can’t play in the tournament, please consider coming to Moon Brook at about 5:00 that day to cheer a group of Special Olympians as they compete in a putting contest. I ran into last year’s winner, Ben Tillotson, a while ago, and he is eager to defend his title.

Looking for other ways to support TRC and the persons with disabilities we serve? Paintings created by individuals with disabilities will be on display all summer long at The House on the Hill restaurant in Mayville. Art Teacher Kristen Briggs made the arrangements for the exhibition. People will be amazed at the abilities of these artists, and most of the works will be available for sale. But I would recommend visiting the restaurant soon – in addition to the delicious food available there, Kristen reports that a number of people already have staked their claim to some of the paintings.

So there you have it – a list of ways that you can show support to persons with disabling conditions. But perhaps the best way to support individuals with disabilities simply by treating them with the respect and courtesy we all wish to receive. Take the time to get to know a person with a disability – you’ll probably discover you have more in common than you think.