Last year, AHS senior Conor McCarthy, with help from a committee of classmates and parents, hosted the first annual Mellissa Anne Andrew Memorial Golf Tournament in honor of his friend who died tragically in a car accident in August 2010. The tournament was established to bring a hurting community together and to pay tribute to a girl who was ‘beautiful on the inside and out.’ It was a great success. Thanks to generous financial support from local businesses, family and friends, $55,000 was raised – enough to fund a part-time sign language teacher at Avon High School and to establish a scholarship in Mellissa’s name.
This year’s tournament committee seeks golfer and donors to help keep Mellissa’s name and spirit alive by supporting the 2012 event, to be held on Sunday, June 3, at the Farmington Woods Golf Club, in Avon, Connecticut.
Thanks to the Smiles for Mellissa foundation, established last year, 25 Avon High School students currently study Level I American Sign Language. Proceeds from this year’s Mellissa Anne Andrew Memorial Golf Tournament will fund a Level II program for these students, plus another level I class for new students in school year 2012-13.
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Sign language is a valuable communications tool for the hearing impaired and for those who have expressive language delays. (Mellissa, for example, used sign language to communicate with her brother, Aidan, who has Down Syndrome and was speech-delayed as a young child.) Students who take the course are bringing a vital skill set to the greater community.
Mellissa was a very special young woman– always smiling; she had a calm and soothing way with people, and hoped to pursue a career in special education. The planning committee of the 2012 tournament that bears her name hopes that the community will come together once again to honor her and continue her legacy.
