Twelve months ago Jim Kelly was sitting home, still recovering from his cancer treatments and eating through a tube, unable to attend his annual celebrity golf tournament at Terry Hill golf course in Batavia. Today Kelly was back, holding court. conducting interviews and marshaling his many volunteers as the 29th annual fund raiser took place.
Hall of Fame receiver Andre Reed
Jim Kelly still deals with the aftermath of the cancer that invaded his jaw and required extensive surgery and weeks of chemo and radiation, but all in all the future is so much brighter than it was twelve months ago. “I appreciate every day and feel so thankful to my family, friends and so many of the people who live in Buffalo,” said Kelly. “Last year I knew the tournament was in good hands with my brother Dan and family running things, but it means so much to me to be back with so many great friends.”
Brother Dan Kelly had the weight of the tournament on his shoulders last year and even had his head shaved to match Jim’s loss of hair due to his treatments. In fact, all of Jim’s brothers had their heads shaved and a local beautician was out on the course obliging anyone who wanted to have their heads done for the charity.
“Last year was a challenge,” said Dan. “This year has such a different feel with Jim back and we thank God for Jim’s recovery.”
Bills DE Mario Williams with Bills Hall of Fame DE Bruce Smith
Buffalo Bills coach Rex Ryan had the entire team show up on buses to be a part of Kelly’s tournament instead of their scheduled OTA’s at the stadium. “This means so much to the community and it’s not always about x’s and 0’s,” said Ryan. “I thought it was important to have our players take part in Jim’s tournament and see how much this football team and it’s players mean to the area they play in.”
Some of the celebrities and players who took part included ESPN’s Chris Berman, Bill Polian, Bruce Smith, Andre Reed, Icky Woods, Fred Smerlas, Andre Reed, Steve Tasker and many, many more.
“”So many of my friends and teammates have a part of this event since it began in 1986,” said Kelly. “Every year they look forward to coming together again, regardless of what the weather may be. This is what Buffalo is all about and after the way the people and fans of this town supported me over the past year this will always be my home.”
Filed under: Koshinski's Korner
Tagged with: Buffalo Bills, Chris Berman, Dan Kelly, Jim Kelly, Rex Ryan
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