This would have been year 10. In this picture Chester was doing something he never does. Talk about his reading disability. The issue that you might never know about him is his struggle with dyslexia. It is what has made him recognize when his student/athletes had issues. He knew when a disabled veteran was struggling. He had had similar struggles. We, have been partners from the beginning of this fundraising idea. Hard to believe we have been fundraising for 10 years, but what began as a kitchen table conversation morphed into a plan. Get as many of our family and friends to donate expertise, time or money. Get a couple of sponsors to help fund the golf tournament overhead and contact all our friends from previous tournaments we had attended to see if they wanted to help. Help Chester and I raise awareness and funds for student/athletes in the sport of judo who couldn't afford competition fees, equipment or class tuition. That first year we raised enough money to fund the golf tournament and donate to two judo dojos in North Carolina and donate to the step-dad of a young pre-teen with cancer that Chester met at his Toyota dealership. We made a pivot last year with our first El Toro Spring Bash held in May at the beautiful Ft. Royal Golf Club, in Virginia. Our first out of state venture. Our momentum had increased, as had our outreach. We had a former judo student, Lamar Dulin, studying chiropractic school in Florida that was struggling to make ends meet. We had a student/athlete, Liana Mutia that was picked to join the Olympic Team at the Paralympics in Tokyo. We had a young student/athlete, Judah Harris that was winning competitions from Florida to Texas and was due to travel to Salt Lake City for this first Junior Nationals competition. Then, in March of this year the whole world was put on pause with the pandemic. We are still dealing with the numbers in each state and as a regional event supporter and now international event supporter, we decided that we will give a nod to what would have been our 10th year event with a fundraiser. A fundraiser because Liana will be traveling to Tokyo in 2021, Judah will compete in 2021 in Utah, Texas and maybe for the first time will need a passport! Lamar begins his first position as Dr. Dulin in Memphis, Tennessee, but relocation can be pricey. So we are reaching out to those of you who are able to contribute, to send a donation of any denomination to help our efforts to continue to sponsor disabled veteran family members in sports, gas and groceries for families who are still recovering from the pandemic fallout and our three student/athletes who are embarking on their journeys that were put on pause in 2020. We couldn't do this without you.
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