Brothers Jerry Lee, Charlie Marshall, Wes Ellard, Todd Blackwell run in the 37th Annual Azalea Trail Run, March 28, 2009. Jerry and Charlie drove in from Huntsville, AL for the event.
Letter from Jerry Lee:
Hello my fellow Pi Kapp brothers !
Let me first of all say how very proud I am of Mr. Todd Blackwell for organizing the Azalea Trail Run alumni event. He has certainly been the glue for me to keep in touch with some of you. He also got me "hooked" on Facebook which I am not sure is such a good thing.
I want to reach out and first of all say "hello " to many of you and secondly to encourage you to take the time to donate to such a worthy cause.
I have such fond memories of PUSH fundraising events, although my memory is foggy on some other chapter events. Never in a million years though did I think that an organization like PUSH would hit so close to home.
On July 22, 2007 we welcomed my youngest son Jonathan David Lee into this world. Through an amniocentesis we were prepared to be the parents of a young boy with Down syndrome. As predicted by the doctors I went through what is best described as the stages of grief. However by the time Jonathan was born I cried tears of joy just as I did for my daughter.
It has been 19 months now and Jonathan is doing great, but we have already faced discrimination on his behalf. We recently attempted to enroll him in a mothers day out program but were told they could not "accommodate" him because he is not walking. Of course I was furious and my wife was upset, but this early lesson has taught me the importance of being an advocate for those with special needs. Another example we have to deal with is going to the park . There is one park in Huntsville that is set up for children with special needs, but the state park does not have any equipment for Jonathan ( which of course is where my daughter prefers to go). We really wish they would have just one swing that Jonathan could swing in, but our suggestions fall on deaf ears. This of course is where an organization like PUSH is so important.
I chose to run initially because I needed a reason to exercise and I wanted to see all of you guys, now I am running because I wanted Jonathan to have the same opportunities to play just like every other child. My hope is that some of the money raised will go to "upgrade" some of the state parks across Alabama. Please join us in the fight to end discrimination for those children with special needs.
Walk, run, cheer, donate or all of the above. For those of you who are planning to come to Mobile. I look forward to seeing you. Take care and God bless!
Jerry Lee
Gamma Phi #175
Jerry and Amanda Lee. The Lee family Christmas photo 2008. Lauren (5) and Jonathan (17mo)