Golfers Share Train of Thought: Raising Funds for Stuttering

Kirk and John Tarver and their Memphis-based Shelby Railroad Services Inc. just raised more than $10,000 for the Memphis-based Stuttering Foundation.

Shelby Railroad held their annual fund-raising golf outing and dinner on Oct. 17 at Wedgewood Golf Club, in Olive Branch, Mississippi.

“Once again, it is with deep gratitude that we accept this gift from the Tarver family, Shelby Railroad, and all of their loyal friends and customers who contributed to a cause that is personal and dear to the Tarver family,” said Terri Jones, of the Stuttering Foundation. “Their generous continued support has enabled us to move from awareness to action, and that is truly making a difference in the lives of those affected by stuttering, not only here in Memphis but also worldwide.”

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.

Shelby Railroad Services Inc. was founded by John Tarver in August 1974. The family-owned company provides 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.

From the Winter 2014 Newsletter

CELEBRITY FOCUS

Frank Wolf

This Virginian congressman has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1981. The longtime supporter of the Stuttering Foundation drew national attention to childhood stuttering in 2006 when he submitted an article about Tiger Woods from the SFA newsletter to the Congressional Record. The congressman is featured in the Stuttering Foundation's Famous People Who Stutter brochure.

Lewis Carroll

The recent Disney version of Lewis Carroll’s classic, Alice in Wonderland, garnered a great deal of media hype. Even though the mainstream media has not made mention that Carroll was a person who stuttered, his family history gives credence to the discovery of the genetic link to stuttering. Carroll was born to parents who were first cousins; almost all of their eleven children, three girls and seven boys, struggled with stuttering past childhood.

Winston Churchill

Seeking to "remove Winston Churchill's stutter by second guessing the diagnosis" indicates neither a truthful retelling of history nor an informed opinion about a complex speech disorder, say experts in the field of speech-language pathology.

Recent news reports that quote Dr. John Mather, a Washington physician, as saying that Churchill's stutter "is a lie" brought adamant critical response from specialists in the field of stuttering and fluency disorders.

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.

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.