DULUTH — It’s not always as simple as Matt Ryan making a phone call. Sometimes it is, though.
The Atlanta Falcons starting quarterback reaches out to friends and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta makes a similar effort, between the two of them building a fun and profitable Matt Ryan Celebrity-Am Classic each year. The sixth annual golf tournament was played Monday at TPC at Sugarloaf, kick-starting a week that culminates with the Champions Tour’s Mitsubishi Electric Classic from Friday to Sunday.
Ryan’s event pairs memorable Atlanta sports stars like Chipper Jones, Phil Niekro and Steve Bartkowski with amateur foursomes to raise money for CHOA’s AFLAC Cancer and Blood Disorders Center.
“A lot of people (in the tournament) are regulars and have been playing with us a number of years and a lot are former teammates,” Ryan said shortly after rolling in a birdie putt on the par-3, eighth hole of the tournament course layout. “A lot of guys ask me if they can get involved. It’s a pretty good mix of all of that. And if they get a call from Children’s Healthcare, everybody’s fairly flexible with their schedules and want to help out.”
Ryan gives the fundraiser name value, though it’s easy to build a field when CHOA is involved. The Atlanta-based organization, one of the largest pediatric clinical care providers in the country, attracts more than 870,000 patient visits per year at its three hospitals and 27 neighborhood facilities.
The 2015 version of Ryan’s tourney raised more than $90,000 for CHOA’s cancer center.
“Any time you can support Matt and CHOA, it’s a win,” said former Falcons wide receiver and current sports broadcaster Brian Finneran, sporting a hat from his alma mater and NCAA men’s basketball champion Villanova. “It’s a great day, a fun tournament. And it’s my home course, so it’s fun to get out here and be a part of it.”
Former Falcons linebacker Dewey McClain, now a member of the Georgia House of Representatives, didn’t need much coercing from the tournament’s namesake, either.
“It’s for a great cause, Children’s is a great cause, and Matt Ryan is a Falcon and we support our family,” the Lilburn resident said. “If Matt says, ‘Dewey, we need your help,’ that’s all it takes. That’s one thing we try to do it help each other.”
Ryan and his wife Sarah have been involved with CHOA since the early days of his NFL career, not long after the Falcons made him the third pick of the 2008 NFL Draft out of Boston College. He also hosts “Dinner for two with #2,” a fall fundraiser for CHOA that features an informal question-and-answer session led by Falcons broadcaster Wes Durham along with Ryan and another guest — Bartkowski was the other guest of honor in 2015.
Ryan’s annual events raise between $250,000 and $300,000 for CHOA.
“The first time I came down here, the first time we had an appearance with the Falcons, we did a community service thing and I got to go to Scottish Rite,” Ryan said. “For me, it was a life-changing experience. To go in that day, see how well run it was, how impactful they were with the kids, I said after, my wife and I, ‘How can we help out?’ (The golf tournament) was one of the things Shelton Stevens (executive director of CHOA’s sports network) had encouraged me to do for a long time.
“We finally got it going and it’s worked out well. … It’s gotten a little bit bigger, a little bit better every year and we raise a little bit more money. Obviously it’s something I look forward to. To able to raise money for CHOA and to be able to help them in some small way is rewarding for me and I think it’s really rewarding for the people who get to come out and have a fun day.”
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