Awarding the 1st John J Heath Jr Foundation Sportsmanship Award

Tonight is the awards banquet where The John J Heath Jr. Foundation is giving the first annual sportsmanship award. I (Kelly) unfortunately could not make it due to not feeling well.

Thank goodness I have three wonderful children who will be there to represent the charity. Vinnie will be reading my speech.

Congratulations to the young man who won and look forward to next years winner! Thank you too everyone who made this scholarship possible.

My speech:

Good evening,

My children Dominic , Vinnie , Megan and I want to thank everyone for allowing us to be here to present this award in my husbands name, The John J Heath Jr. Sportsmanship award. I know it’s a mouthful for sure.

Every year Patapsco High School will get a scholarship and it will go to someone who showed exemplary sportsmanship skills. They does not have to be an elite athlete just someone that knows the value of being a good sport.

We started the John J Heath Jr. Foundation after my husband battled cancer for two years. He had a very invasive cancer, but it didn’t stop him from living a full life till the day he passed away. He fought very hard to be here for his family and friends.

My children and I wanted something in his name to honor the fact that he was such a great coach for so many children over the years. He believed that sportsmanship was the number one trait when teaching children to be good athletes and good humans.

John loved every sport and everything about sports. He was an extreme fan when it came to the Baltimore Ravens, Orioles and the Terrapins. I use to call him a homer. Because no matter how many wins or losses they had, he always had something positive to say.

John had a nickname, it was Swami. Every week people would ask his opinion on the game and who he thought would win. When John was a coach he would always find something positive to say about each player while also working on the things that could be improved.

And this is what made him a great coach and loved by everyone that played for him.

John was an amazing human being. I don’t know of anyone that ever said “I don’t like John Heath” and he never expressed a dislike for anyone he ever met.

He will be missed forever.

Thank you for listening about our hero…..

Congratulations again to the recipient of this year's John J Heath Jr. Foundation Sportsmanship Award.

Our fundraising opportunities are vital to supporting this scholarship award for a local high school student every year. Please consider participating in one of our fundraising events or donate directly on our contact us page.