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MSC Foundation: A Speech that Left Everyone Else Speechless

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Michael Saunders with Susie Doyan from Charlotte County's Special Olympics Florida

Michael Saunders with Susie Doyan from Charlotte County’s Special Olympics Florida

What does it mean to really make a difference in one person’s life? Thanks to a beautiful, heart-warming speech given by Susie Doyan, a notable participant in Charlotte County’s Special Olympics Florida, those in attendance at the the MSC Foundation’s End-of-Year Grant Giving Ceremony on January 14 received a glimpse into how the MSC Foundation is transforming lives.

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From July to December 2014 the agents and staff of Michael Saunders & Company raised over $60,000 – its highest amount yet. Awarded to forty local non-for-profit organizations, eighteen of which received a grant for the first time, Michael Saunders & Company gathered with a representative from each nonprofit to celebrate this record achievement by awarding grants in person.

Drayton Saunders, Joyce and Jacqueline from The Children's Healthy Pantry, & Michael Saunders

Drayton Saunders, Joyce and Jacqueline from The Children’s Healthy Pantry, & Michael Saunders

Michael Saunders delivered a speech highlighting every charity in attendance but it was at the end, when Susie spoke to a room packed with nearly 100 people, that the impact of the MSC Foundation’s mission was felt. Eloquent, engaging, and displaying quite a gift for comedic timing, she read from hand-written note cards what the Special Olympics has done for her. DSC_8009

Graciously, she offered to let us have a copy of her speech so we could share it with others:

What a leader would do
Look up and smile

It is a pleasure for me to be here today to share my love of S.O. with you. It was not very long ago that I was unable to speak out loud to anyone other than my parents. I couldn’t even hold my head up and look at people. I am extremely shy, but I love S.O. so much, I wanted to tell everyone about the joy and satisfaction I get from it.

S.O. is for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. They offer year-round sports training and competition in 20 different sports. They are international with over 2 million athletes world wide. They are the largest sports network in the world.

My very favorite sport is golf. I play 18 hole unified golf. Unified sports pair a S.O. athlete with a non-S.O. athlete. My partner is Tom Reasoners, who chairs the Illinois Law Enforcement Torch Run. He has been my partner for 13 years. We have a blast together! He is sweet and he makes me laugh! Tom was having trouble with his game a few years ago, so I wrote him a golf manual. He carries it in his golf bag wherever he goes. He even flies to Florida from Illinois for our competitions. Tom has earned 13 medals as my partner but I have over 180 medals, so I tell him he has a very long way to catch up.

7 years ago, I had the opportunity to attend the Players Championship in Atlanta. I had so much fun collecting autographs on my cap. The neatest was when Phil Mickelson came off the green. I gave him my cap and he gave it back, then he put something in my hand. It was his golf glove autographed just for me. Is that cool or what?

I have had the opportunity of having S.O. make a video of my story and and have a commercial televised all over North America. I was interviewed by Golf Digest and will be in their January issue. Not too shabby for a shy kid right!

I am so pleased and grateful to the agents of Michael Saunders for 100% dedication to the community. Your generosity will change lives!

From Susie Doyan's note cards

From Susie Doyan’s note cards

From all of us at Michael Saunders & Company, thank you, Susie, for sharing your heart and inspiring us all!

Check out this video of Susie’s Story:

For more information on the MSC Foundation, visit the Foundation webpage.  If you would like to learn more about the process of receiving a charitable grant, all requests must come through MSC agents or staff.  Please reach out to your local Michael Saunders and Company office to see how they can help.

To see more photos, visit the Michael Saunders & Company Facebook album (and give us a LIKE while you are there!)

MSC Foundation: A Speech that Left Everyone Else Speechless was last modified: March 12th, 2015 by Kathryn Parks

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