Golf outing dedicated to lost children
When Pete and Judy Connor lost their two children in unexpected tragedies, they decided the experience would not devastate them, but define them.
In 2005, the Penn Township couple opened Josh and Carrie's Place, a drug-free community center for all ages housed at the Net Outreach on Center Avenue.
The center preserves the memory of 16-year-old Carrie, who died in 1990 in a car accident while driving to school; and 20-year-old Joshua, who died in 2001 while trying to pull a friend from a burning home.
"Before Carrie's death she wrote a term paper about the heartbreak of the homeless and how she might effect change," said Pete Connor.
"Josh championed the underprivileged and befriended the disadvantaged and always seemed to protect those in need," he said.
"Our project ... is to provide clean and sober fun for people struggling with addictions and in recovery," added Connor, who marks 10 years of sobriety.
"Not only do we want to offer those in recovery a haven, but we take seriously the cause of promoting community awareness and education regarding alcoholism and drug abuse," he said.
Although Josh and Carrie's Place is open before and after the 8 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous meetings held at the Net on Monday nights, the Connors also organize social events and fundraisers.One such event, the annual Carrie and Joshua Connor Golf Memorial, will be held May 17 at the Lake Arthur Country Club."This is our fourth year, and I couldn't be more pleased with the participation of local business getting behind us and supporting this event," Connor said."Treesdale has given us a golf package; we have autographed sports memorabilia, gift certificates, golf equipment and theme baskets," he added.Proceeds from the golf outing will go toward events and activities sponsored by Josh and Carrie's Place."We just had a meeting of the board where they were discussing different outing and hobby groups to start. There is a group that wants to go hiking, a group that wants to do softball and paintball," explained Connor."We try to keep the costs down for participants in all that we do."Jamie McKinley, president of Josh and Carrie's Place, said the foundation has a vision of someday having a place that will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week."Of course achieving that will require many volunteers and a lot of donations," she said, noting for now the group is happy to rent space at the Net."It is really a perfect fit for us right now," Connor said of the Net, a youth and community outreach center operated by the Grace Youth and Family Foundation.Net founder Bill Halle said Josh and Carrie's Place is a venue where social needs are getting met."Whether we are talking about Christian ministry, clean and sober living, youth and families, or the social fabric of our community, it all boils down to relationships," he said."Josh and Carrie's Place is a simple concept of providing a place where a cup of hot coffee and a slice of pie bring people of all dynamics together to encourage, support and exhort each other in the midst of life's struggles."
<B>WHAT: </B>Fourth annual Carrie and Joshua Connor Golf Memorial fundraising event<B>WHEN: </B>8 a.m. breakfast, 9 a.m. shotgun start on May 17<B>WHERE: </B>Lake Arthur Country Club<B>INFO: </B>Cost is $70 per person. Call 724-822-7951 to register.
