Roy surpasses Relay goal of $10,000

Although he probably won’t go to Disney World, Roy Henson was just as proud of his accomplishments as any Super Bowl MVP.

Wednesday morning, Henson’s friends and co-workers at Mineral Area College put him over his goal of raising $10,000 for St. Francois County Relay For Life.

Early this fall Henson pledged to leave his wheelchair and walk as far as he could down the football field as a way to raise money for Relay. He hoped to raise $10,000.

By the fourth quarter of the football game between Central and St. Vincent, he’d raised about $5,000 in donations and pledges.

He made it all the way to the 38-yard line that fall evening in front of a large, cheering crowd.

Henson, 39, was born with Cerebral Palsy and has spent almost all of his life in a wheelchair. He got the idea for the fundraiser one day when he got out of that chair and walked a few steps as he wore a Relay For Life T-shirt.

Henson said he was relieved in a way that the challenge was over. “I mean I will still be collecting money for the American Cancer Society throughout the rest of the year.

“It is nothing about me. It is finding a cause that you are willing to fight for and making a statement that you are willing to do something. Something so far out there, that others may see it and think, ‘Hey what if I do this……’ But for the most part, I am thrilled,” Henson wrote about his achievement.

Henson said he was overjoyed Wednesday when he received checks that put him above his goal.

“I knew that it would be coming eventually. After the last story came out (in the Daily Journal) and money started to stream in again, I thought realistically that maybe the goal could be met by homecoming this Saturday. There are a bunch of generous and caring people who work for the college and I am just happy to be part of the MAC family.”

Although he never doubted the generosity of the people in St. Francois County, he said that in these times of economic worries, $10,000 was a goal he thought he might come close to achieving. However, Henson said that realistically, reaching his goal by late February was still hard for him to fathom.

A press release from friends and co-workers at Mineral Area College Wednesday morning announced, “We’re happy to announce that thanks to the generosity of Roy’s many friends in and outside of MAC, Roy has hit his Relay For Life goal of $10,000… as of this (Wednesday) morning, with the contributions from his co-workers in Student Services, he hit $10,020.

“Of course, if you haven’t contributed yet, don’t let that stop you… he’ll happily accept continued donations (checks made out to the American Cancer Society).

“Thanks to: Carol Whaley, Gil Kennon, Carolyn Gordon, Diana Stuart, Tami Davenport, Hilary Duckett, Jerry Walters, Patsy Hunt, Fred Nute, Pam Bruce, Alice Johnson, Stephanie Campbell, Marlene and Jim Ragland, Jim Wilson, Barb England, Mike Easter, Mark Easter, and our fabulous tabulator, Nancy Crader.

“Roy, you’re the best!! We’re all so proud of you.”

What will Henson do to top this fundraiser?

“You never know [wink wink],” he wrote

“I can’t answer (that question ) at this time. But, someone has submitted an idea to me through the Web site. I have tweaked it a little bit and bounced it off of the heads of a few friends to see how it would be perceived. They thought that it was clever. If I do this, it will be interesting to see how it will evolve.”

Sherry Greminger is managing editor of the Daily Journal and may be reached at 573-431-2010, ext. 115 or at sgreminger@dailyjournalonline.com