Fund-raiser Runs at Full Steam to Make Record Gift to Memphis Foundation

Contact: Greg Wilson
gregwilsonpr@gmail.com

Photo caption: John Tarver (second from left) and Kirk Tarver (second from right) of Shelby Railroad Services Inc. with Stuttering Foundation staff members Susie Hall (from left), Terri Jones, and Pat Hamm.

MEMPHIS (Oct. 9, 2012) — Kirk and John Tarver and their Memphis-based Shelby Railroad Services Inc. raised an astonishing $11,000 for the Memphis-based Stuttering Foundation.

Shelby Railroad held their annual fund-raising golf outing and dinner on Oct. 4 at Wedgewood Golf Club, in Olive Branch, Miss.

“This generous gift will be put to good use helping those who stutter in Memphis and around the country,” said Terri Jones, CFO of the nonprofit Stuttering Foundation. "The Foundation is 65 years old this year, and this is a terrific birthday gift."

The golf outing honors Ruth McGuiness Tarver, the late mother of company president and founder John Tarver. Ruth stuttered from the time she was a young child.

“She was a great lady,” Shelby Railroad Vice President Kirk Tarver said of his grandmother. “It didn’t matter to us, but it embarrassed her. Back in the ‘30s, there wasn’t any help.”

The Stuttering Foundation closed its office early and the staff joined in the celebration.

The Stuttering Foundation is the nation’s leading nonprofit organization dedicated to helping those who stutter, their families and professionals in the field of speech. The Foundation’s Web sites, www.StutteringHelp.org and www.tartamudez.org, offer free downloadable resources and streaming video. The organization also maintains a toll-free helpline, 800-992-9392.

Shelby Railroad Services Inc., 3021 Shelby Drive, was founded by John Tarver in August 1974. The family owned company is committed to providing the railroad industry with the highest quality materials and construction services in the mid-south and surrounding areas. Their services include design, new construction, maintenance, repair, and the supply of rail materials and equipment.

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About the Foundation 
Malcolm Fraser, a successful businessman who stuttered, went on to establish and endow the nonprofit Stuttering Foundation in 1947. The Stuttering Foundation provides a toll-free helpline, 800-992-9392, and free online resources on its Website, www.StutteringHelp.org, including services, referrals and support to people who stutter and their families, as well as support for research into the causes of stuttering.

CELEBRITY FOCUS

Jack Paar

While Jack Paar is among the most prominent of the entertainers on the Stuttering Foundation’s list of Famous People Who Stutter, he deserves special recognition as he was among the first to openly address his stuttering in public. As host of The Tonight Show from 1957-1962, he spoke of his difficulties as a stuttering child and teenager, giving hope to young people.

James Earl Jones

Actor James Earl Jones, a Broadway, television and movie star, is well-known for his voice as Darth Vader in Star Wars and his book Voices and Silences. Jones has spoken some of the most memorable lines in the history of American film, but the man known for his voice was once afflicted with a severe stutter.

Darren Sproles

Darren Sproles, a former player for The Philadelphia Eagles, the New Orleans Saints and the San Diego Chargers, made history in 2007 when he became the first player in NFL history to return a kickoff and a punt for his first two NFL touchdowns in the same game. In 2021, he was selected to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Bob Love

Bob Love has dreamt about being a great public speaker since his early days in Bastrop Louisiana, even though, as a young man, he could barely put two words together, let alone speak a full sentence.

In spite of his severe stuttering disability, Bob Love, the son of a sharecropper, rose to become a Chicago Bulls NBA superstar, whose records were eventually surpassed by Michael Jordan. Throughout his entire athletic career, Bob Love kept his stuttering a secret from the fans who adored him, thinking he could do his “talking” on the basketball court.

Dave Taylor

Dave Taylor has been on the Stuttering Foundation's list of Famous People Who Stutter for many years, but probably few people know all of the unique accomplishments of this former hockey great who was born on December 4, 1955, in Levack, Ontario.