Jigger Continues to Spread the Word

Our favorite unofficial ambassador, Leon “Jigger” Sirois (see Summer 2007 SFA Newsletter) continues to tirelessly heighten awareness of the Stuttering Foundation and the resources and help that are available.

Jigger shared with us that, “Stuttering has evolved into a major gift for me. I wouldn’t change it now even if I could go back.” However, until some years ago, it was a difficult and sometimes distressing burden. He likened the struggle to speak to trying to get “water out of a faucet with the pump turned off! I finally learned, the more ‘tricks’ you try in order to work around the stuttering, the more undue pressure you put on yourself.”

Jigger is particularly passionate about getting SFA resources into public libraries. Currently Jigger has made a donation to the Foundation to supply a complete set of SFA books and DVDs to the Enoch Pratt Free Library in honor of Theodore L. DeWeese, M.D., Professor and Chairman, Department of Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, and his staff.

(Editor’s Note: See this historic library, which houses the H.L. Mencken Collection among many other fascinating resources, at www.prattlibrary.org)

He also recently donated updated resources to the Summers County Public Library in Hinton, West Virginia, and the St. Joseph County Public Library in South Bend, Indiana.

In addition, Jigger is enthusiastic about talking to people in everyday life, wherever he meets them. And Jigger, the most down-to-earth and personable guy you’d ever want to meet, doesn’t know any strangers. In a sort of “pay it forward” way, he will give resources to his swimming coach, the clerk at the electrical supply store, fellow Toastmasters, or his physician. And they, in turn, tell others.

Jigger won’t take one ounce of credit for being an ambassador. He says, “Stuttering is a complex affliction that makes people uncomfortable sometimes.” Perhaps that insight into others, sort of a heightened sense of others’ needs, is what drives him, now that he can, to keep talking and helping. “Knowledge is the antithesis of ignorance,” Jigger said. Keep talking, friend!

CELEBRITY FOCUS

Kenyon Martin

Kenyon Martin, the basketball sensation who was named to the NBA’s All Star Team in 2004, joins other famous people who stutter in a new brochure. The brochure - which unfolds into a small poster - is available free of charge from The Stuttering Foundation.

The poster is intended to give children and adults who stutter inspiration as they grapple with their speech disorder.

Bill Walton

From BillWalton.com

Thank you for your interest in my life long problem with my speech and communication skills. I was a very shy and reserved young man who could not speak at all without severely stuttering until I was 28 years old. Always a success in the classroom and on the basketball court, I took refuge in the things that I did well as a youngster. A straight A student, my athletic abilities covered the deficiencies that limited my overall growth and development. The game of basketball was my religion, the gym my church. It was a convenient way of avoiding my responsibilities of developing my human relation skills.

When I was 28, a chance encounter at a social event with Hall of Fame broadcaster Marty Glickman completely changed my life in so many ways that things have never been the same since, nor have they ever been better. That day, in a very brief, private conversation (one way, mind you, since I literally could not speak at the time) Marty explained, patiently and concisely, that talking, communicating was a skill not a gift or a birthright and that like any skill, whether it be sports, music, business or whatever, needed to be developed over a lifetime of hard work, discipline, organization and practice. Marty gave me some simple tips that day and then encouraged me to take those keys and apply them to methods of learning that I had received from the special teachers that I had come across in my life, particularly the 6 Hall of Fame basketball coaches that I had played for throughout my career. The beginning of my whole new life was as simple as that. No gimmicks, tricks or shortcuts. Just the realization that with some help, guidance and a lot of hard work that I too could do what seemed so easy, simple and natural to everyone else, yet seemed impossibly out of my reach and comprehension.

Ken Venturi

As much of the nation watches the U.S. Open Golf Championship, it is impossible not to think about our late friend Ken Venturi. Ken overcame many challenges to win the Open at Congressional in 1964 and go on to become the voice of golf for more than three decades.

However, Ken faced no bigger obstacle than stuttering. Ken Venturi was a champion to those who stutter, going out of his way to share his personal experience when consulted by a colleague, friend, or child who stutters.

Mel Tillis

Mel Tillis, born Lonnie Melvin Tillis, was an influential figure in country music, both as a songwriter and a performer. His journey to fame was marked by overcoming personal challenges, including a stutter that he turned into a defining part of his public persona.

Alan Rabinowitz

Alan Rabinowitz, Ph.D., who passed away in 2018, was an explorer, wildlife conservationist, and author. He established the Hukawng Valley Tiger Reserve in northern Myanmar, which is about the size of the state of Vermont.

His love for animals began when he was very young.