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ASA Connections in PA: Emma Nemeth’s Story

12/11/2020

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ASA Connections in PA: Emma Nemeth’s Story

Emma Nemeth, a member of the Dauphin County, PA Athletes Serving Athletes Community, found out about our organization through Facebook. One day as she was scrolling through her feed, she saw an invite for a local open house event. Her decision to attend led to her role as an ASA Captain today. 

However, it wasn’t just by chance that the open house popped up on Emma’s Facebook feed - she was purposefully looking to join an organization like ASA. 
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Previously, she had participated in a church group Sunday school class for adults with disabilities. Building relationships with the group members and celebrating their shared beliefs deepened her connection to both the church and its congregants. Emma was on the lookout for more opportunities like this.
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When she learned more about ASA, it seemed like the perfect group. It piqued her interest as a former cross-country and track star, and combined both her passions for helping people with disabilities and running. 
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Despite the Dauphin County ASA community’s smaller size, Emma says that the friendships she’s forged with WingMen and ASA Athletes have still resulted in deep, meaningful connections.

“The PA group is relatively small, but being a smaller group allows us to be more intimate and close-knit,” she says. “It’s been really great, and I really appreciate and love the people and getting to know everyone.”

As the pandemic continues to affect people and organizations across the globe, Emma has been keeping in touch with her ASA community through social media. 
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“My heart goes out to ASA Athletes because training and racing together was a big part of their social connection,” she says. “The virtual events have been awesome, and I’m grateful that we’re still able to be together that way.”
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The biggest thing that Emma misses about in-person training runs and races is the sense of camaraderie brought about by running alongside all of the WingMen, Captains and ASA Athletes. She especially misses laughing and counting dogs on training runs with ASA Athlete Ashley Reeves.
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The first thing Emma plans to do once the pandemic is over is hug all of her WingMen, Captain, and ASA Athlete friends again. 

Read more stories like Emma's!

Read Keely Horch's Story

Read John Suggs's Story 

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Staying Connected to ASA: John Suggs’s Story

12/8/2020

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Staying Connected to ASA: John Suggs’s Story

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Lisa Dornell Suggs was reading a local Howard County magazine when she came across an article about Stephanie and David Blades’ involvement with ASA - that’s when it clicked. This is the perfect organization for her son, John, to join. 
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She and her husband Robert are always on the lookout for opportunities to get John involved in the community, so they immediately made some calls, and soon enough John found himself on the ASA Athlete waiting list. Shortly after that, he received the invitation to become a full-blown ASA Athlete and participated in his first official race - a 5k to benefit Girls on the Run.
“We’ve met some lovely people, and John immediately loved participating in training runs and races,” Lisa says. “The commitment and the love of the WingMen is amazing, and it’s a great experience for John and our family - it gives us something to focus on besides disability.”
Despite COVID-19 preventing the Suggs from participating in running events in person in 2020, John and his family kept their spirits up and stayed connected. They participated in virtual races and made signs to cheer on those who were out there running. 

John and his father even entered a “Run Across America” challenge where they went on long walks around the neighborhood together and tracked their distance. As a result, John got to connect with his neighbors that he saw out on his daily walks. 
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One summer highlight stands out for the Suggs family: the day that a “We Miss You” sign for John appeared in their yard.
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“It was a huge surprise when we opened the door!” said Lisa. “We loved the picture, and John had the biggest grin on his face. He was so happy, and it shows that ASA is still thinking about him, still values him, and still wants to maintain that connection - even though we aren’t able to be with everyone in person right now.”

John is looking forward to being reunited with his ASA community friends once again. In the meantime, you can find him attending Zoom dance parties and rolling around the neighborhood with his dad and making new friends on their walks.

Read more stories like John's!

Read Keely Horch's Story

Read Emma Nemeth's Story 

Donate to Support ASA!
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THE STORY OF KEELY & KEVIN & VIRTUAL RUNFEST

12/4/2020

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THE STORY OF KEELY & KEVIN & VIRTUAL RUNFEST

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Keely Horch, now a sophomore at Catonsville High School, got involved with ASA in 2019 after being introduced to the organization through Board Member Kevin McNulty.

​Her love of outdoor activities and making meaningful connections with others made her decision to become an ASA Athlete a no-brainer.

When Keely and her family got the call that a spot had opened up, she was unfortunately too ill to physically participate in any activities. But that didn’t stop ASA from keeping her involved - the organization kept in touch with Keely throughout the year. 

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She still had the chance to meet people and build relationships with WingMen and Captains.
Once she began to feel well enough to finally race and train, a new challenge prevented her from racing: COVID-19. Instead of letting the situation get her down, Keely continued to stay positive and connected with her newfound ASA friends and family. 

One particular event over the summer stands out: Virtual RunFest. Never having raced before, Keely didn’t know quite what to expect, especially from an event that had been modified to meet pandemic safety measures.
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Little did she expect Kevin McNulty to bring a socially-distanced entourage of ASA supporters (complete with a water station, orange slices, cheering, and signs) right to her front yard. It was the closest possible replication to a racing event, given the global pandemic. ​

​To play it safe, Kevin ran in Keely’s honor as she and the other ASA onlookers cheered him on.

“She’s is a doll!” he says. “She has a great attitude, and her community, neighbors, and family all know that and came out to support her.”
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Kevin's Facebook post about the event reads:

"I had the honor of running for Keely Horch this morning in Catonsville as part of the ASA Virtual RunFest. We had a great time with the pre and post race parties. A lot of the Team did a walk through Keely’s neighborhood. I ran what I called an Old School 5k because I ran down to and around my old school and back. I can’t wait for the day when it is safe enough for me to run with Keely but until then I’ll keep running for her and all of our wonderful Athletes. Together We Finish!"


Keely is still looking forward to finally running and racing with ASA. In the meantime, you can find her enjoying the outdoors and cruising along the Ocean City shorefront in her new Extreme Motus all-terrain chair. ​

Read more stories like Keely's!

Read John Suggs's Story

Read Emma Nemeth's Story

Donate to Support ASA!
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