Buffalo Bills great Jim Kelly reflects on life at the Andre Reed Golf Tournament

The Andre Reed Celebrity Golf Tournament celebrated its 13th anniversary Monday morning, but it was only the third year Woodstone Country Club hosted the event in Danielsville.

It was also the first time that NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly, a pivotal figure in helping Dieruff High School and Kutztown University alumnus Andre Reed reach the Hall of Fame himself, was healthy enough to attend and connect with the Lehigh Valley community.

He reflected on this opportunity and compared the area and its people to the two places he had lived his entire life.

“It’s great to be here and see everyone and the country is beautiful. I’m a country boy,” Kelly said. “A redneck Yankee, that’s what they call me because they know I grew up in Pittsburgh; I love the country and I appreciate it. The people here remind me of Buffalo. Their hearts are so big.

Since being diagnosed with oral cancer 11 years ago, Kelly has undergone dozens of radiation treatments, multiple surgeries, including one that lasted 12 hours and another that required taking blood samples. bone of his femur to reconstruct his jaw. He also heard that his cancer was incurable.

Despite all this, he’s still here. And he knows it’s for a reason.

“There’s only one person who knows our days and that’s the good Lord above and I know he’s not ready for me yet,” Kelly said. “I have a lot of traveling to do and talk about him and what he did for my life and for so many friends around me.”

Part of that trip was traveling to Woodstone and traveling by cart to reach as many people in attendance as possible and, of course, hitting his drive right onto the fairway.

Woodstone Country Club owner Bruce Lack expressed his gratitude to Kelly, Reed and all the other celebrities who came to join the community.

“It’s a good thing for Lehigh Valley and for Woodstone. Everyone that (Reed) has brought has been very nice and cordial and enjoys talking to us. We made good friends with them,” Lack said.

The event supports the Andre Reed Foundation, established in 2010 to help underprivileged children reach their full potential and become responsible contributors to their communities. Along with other organizations, the foundation specifically supports the Boys & Girls Club of Allentown, a place where Reed spent much of his time growing up.

It helped make him the man he is today, which is why giving back is so special.

“It’s funny how things come back. Who would have thought as a kid that the Boys & Girls Club would be so important to me and my life instead of just going there and being there,” Reed said. “That this was going to be a foundation for me for the rest of my life. And I’m not the only one. Thousands of Boys & Girls Club members rely on them every day. I remain convinced that they played a determining role in what I did.

Just as the Boys & Girls Club was instrumental in Reed’s career, so was his quarterback, whom he was delighted to see healthy and in good spirits at his annual event.

“He’s my guy. Without him, I wouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame,” Reed said of Kelly. “My career wouldn’t have been what it is without him. He’s like a pitcher and a catcher. I needed him and he needed me. We’re both in the Hall of Fame for a reason.”

The two men have been through a lot together on the field in the form of four straight winless Super Bowl appearances, but it’s life off the field that has drastically changed each of them.

What do they have in common? A foundation of faith on which to rely in the face of the challenges that present themselves.

“It’s great because as players we get wrapped up in ourselves and things like that and we don’t realize that there’s a higher being and that someone gave you these gifts,” he said. Reed said. “I got saved about 10 or 12 years ago and was baptized in the Jordan River in Israel and it changed my life. »

“André would be the first to say, ‘We all go through tough times in our lives, but that’s the attitude you have.’ Surround yourself with good, quality people and believe that God has a purpose for all of us,” Kelly said.

This goal is lived out through numerous keynote speeches across the country, the Kelly for Kids Foundation which is committed to serving underprivileged and disabled youth in Western New York and the Hunter’s Hope Foundation which was established when the first Kelly’s child and son, Hunter, was diagnosed with Krabbe leukodystrophy at birth.

The inherited nervous system disease ultimately took Hunter’s life at age 8 and the foundation is dedicated to providing hope through education, awareness, research and family care regarding leukodystrophies and neonatal screening.

“I was one of those guys who was mad at God. My wife ran to the Lord and I ran away because I said, “How can you do this to me?” Four straight Super Bowl losses, having a son born on my birthday and then being diagnosed…I could go on and on with all of this, but I realized it was just testing my faith,” Kelly said .

He’s come through to the other side and events like this at Woodstone Country Club to support his former teammates and community members are just another opportunity to demonstrate his mission and say he envisioned it during his battles with cancer over the past decade:

“Make a difference today for someone fighting for their future.”

Few people have fought harder than Kelly for this tomorrow and even fewer are fighting as hard as him to make a difference for those still fighting.

“I know he has a purpose for me and I’m living it right now,” Kelly said. “Today, I live this by making a difference for many people. That’s what it’s about.

Derek Bast is a freelance writer who can be found on Twitter/X at @derek_bast or reached by email at [email protected].