Tarver Family, Shelby Railroad Give Major Gift to Memphis’ Stuttering Foundation

For Immediate Release
Contact: Greg Wilson
greg@curleycompany.com
571-239-7474

Photo caption: Kirk Tarver, vice president of Shelby Railroad, presents a donation to Donna White of the Stuttering Foundation on Sept. 18 at Wedgewood Golf Club. Download picture

MEMPHIS (Sept. 23, 2014) — Kirk and John Tarver and their Memphis-based Shelby Railroad Services Inc. raised more than $10,000 for the Memphis-based Stuttering Foundation. Shelby Railroad held their annual fund-raising golf outing and dinner on Sept. 18 at Wedgewood Golf Club, in Olive Branch, Miss.

"The generosity and kindness of the Tarver family, Shelby Railroad, and all of their loyal friends and customers is simply overwhelming," said Donna White of the nonprofit Stuttering Foundation.

Jane Fraser, president of the Stuttering Foundation, added, "Their continuous support, this year totaling $10,295, allows us to affect real change throughout the stuttering community right here in Memphis where our Foundation was born, as well as around the world."

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 wonderful lady," Shelby Railroad Vice President Kirk Tarver said of his grandmother. "Her stuttering never mattered much to us, but for her it was a source of great embarrassment. She felt shame, humiliation and defeat her whole life. Eighty years ago, there wasn’t any real help for people with speech issues."

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

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About the Foundation 
Malcolm Fraser, a successful Memphis businessman who stuttered, established and endowed 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.

About Shelby Railroad Services Inc.
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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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.

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