Governor’s Cup

Football's best come out to support local charities

By: Tamsen Merrill

Published On: August 31, 2010

Football players know what it takes to reach the end zone. When the zone is supporting two vital charities, University of Louisville and University of Kentucky put their best onto the social field for the 2010 Governor’s Cup Dinner and Auction, held at the Mellwood Arts Center in July.

The room was filled with former players who had supported Visually Impaired Preschool Services (VIPS) and Dare To Care for years. This year, the charities combined resources for both the dinner and the golf scramble the following day.

Greg Osborn, who works with the Governor’s Cup title sponsor, Kroger, is also director of the Cup committee. “Both charities will benefit wholeheartedly,” he said. He and many others credited committee director Randy Whit for bringing accomplished athletes into the room. “Even the old honorees come back,” Osborn said. “This whole area between Lexington and Louisville produces a lot of great athletes, and they go on to do good things.”

The athletes present included former University of Kentucky quarterback Babe Parilli, a 16-year professional football veteran; Fran Curci, one of Kentucky’s winningest coaches; and Derrick Ramsey, former tight end at Kentucky and a professional alumni of Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots and Detroit Lions. Ramsey has been involved with the charity functions since their inception, but “Once they started the Governor’s Cup, that brought along the excitement of the rivalry between the two greatest teams in Kentucky,” he said. He drew several teammates into the program as well. “I never go anywhere without them, still today.”

Two people present who understood the importance of supporting the charities were Sarah Flick and her son, Colten Peters. Peters was diagnosed with optic nerve hypoplasia when he was a few months old. Flick recalled the shock of his diagnosis: “We weren’t told, ‘He may have some vision, it may improve,’ it was, ‘He’s blind, call this number.’ At the time, we didn’t know he could be walking around, learning, doing things other kids do.” Fortunately the number she was told to call was for VIPS. Peters has been part of their program since he was 5 months old; in the fall, he’ll attend preschool there.

Flick makes VIPS’ importance clear: “They have provided for him every step of the way. We’ve had so much support, it’s been wonderful. I don’t know what we would have done without them.”