Blue Ridge Speech and Hearing, Creighton Farms Team Together to Raise Funds

This time, four Washington Redskins greats, as well as 28 other charitable golfers, convened at the golf course and each paid $2,500 to play in an 18-hole tournament. All the money collected went to Blue Ridge Speech and Hearing, a local non-profit based in Lansdowne.

The center, founded in 1964, offers “professional, affordable and compassionate speech-language, audiology and occupational therapy services,” according to its Web site.

Redskins fans would have been pleased with the turnout, as four Redskins all-timers attended the event. Roy Jefferson, a former wideout, former running back Larry Brown, who won a Most Valuable Player Award in 1972, former defensive back Brig Owens, and former receiver Gary Clark each made an appearance to play some golf.

“I always love golf," Jefferson said. "I mean to come out and play golf and still be, you being helpful to someone else, I enjoy it."

Another Redskins had close ties to the motives for the fundraiser. Brown is deaf in his right ear, something he hid from his coaches and peers in college. When he got to the NFL, legendary coach Vince Lombardi was studying film and noticed that Brown was late off the line. Once questioned, Brown admitted he had trouble hearing. Lombardi had Brown's helmet fitted with an ear piece, the first of its kind. Current Redskins starting safety Reed Doughty also has a hearing impairment.

“Blue Ridge touches the lives of so many children, as well as seniors, who would not be able to be treated without our help,” Debbie Rieger, Chair of the Board, said. “It often costs over $10,000 for just one child to receive treatment that can make a difference over the course of a year. It is also disheartening to see how many seniors withdraw from society due to hearing loss that they cannot afford to treat, needing at least $4,000 for hearing aids.

This year, Blue Ridge Speech and Hearing already had a cause in mind. “The first $7,000 is spoken for,” Kristi Stilen-Lare, President of Blue Ridge Speech and Hearing, said. “We have a little boy who needs a device to talk, which is quite expensive.”

The event, which also featured a lunch and a dinner, as well as a live band and on-site cigar rolling, appeared to have a great turnout. “Last year, in our first year [doing this] we made $25,000,” Rieger said. “This year we will easily double that.”

Along with the money raised from the golf tournament, Blue Ridge Speech and Hearing also sold raffle tickets at $20 each, and held a silent auction that featured signed baseballs, paintings, assorted signed Nicklaus memorabilia, a signed Arnold Palmer Calloway putter, and many other goodies.

The winners of the golf tournament (and longest drive and closest to pin) took home some hardware.

Creighton Farms is a golf community of U.S. 15 north of Aldie, featuring a Jack Nicklaus designed golf course as its centerpiece. Nicklaus returned to Creighton Farms on Sept. 30 for the first time since its completion.