Heroism is the memory of a great name, and the inheritance of a great example.
–Benjamin Disraeli

In her own words, Lynn Chiaverotti would have described herself as a normal, everyday person just trying to live her life the best way that she knew how. She would have labeled herself as a wife, mother and friend. She probably would have called herself loving and caring. She might not have used the word inspirational to describe her actions and she probably would not have seen herself as being particularly heroic – but she was. If you ask Lynn’s family and friends, you will realize that she was indeed special – someone who was always there when she was needed and who brought a certain joy and grace into the lives of everyone who knew her. Never was Lynn’s uniqueness and extraordinary ability to love more apparent than after her death from a brain injury in 1996, when her family and friends tried to make sense of their loss and learn to live without her. The one thing that everyone knew was that Lynn would not be forgotten.

To that effect, Lynn’s husband Gary worked tirelessly with family and friends to ensure his wife’s legacy through the establishment of a memorial fund in her name. The Lynn Fund (formerly the Lynn A. Chiaverotti Memorial Fund) was launched in November 1997 with the mission of helping individuals, family members and friends obtain community-based services and information to aid them in the healing and recovery process after brain injury.

To date, The Lynn Fund has raised approximately $15,000 to be spent on educating military personnel about the Brain Injury Association, its mission and services, as well as increasing public awareness about brain injury, its causes and consequences. The money has been raised through direct donations and the proceeds from two Lynn A. Chiaverotti Memorial Golf Tournaments held this past summer.

To raise money for the fund, two golf tournaments were developed and held in Florida and Ohio, respectively. Under the organization and leadership of Denny Foster and Debbie Cassidy, the first Lynn A. Chiaverotti Memorial Golf Tournament was held in Jacksonville, FL on May 17. The second tournament, held on July 5 at the Oakhurst Country Club in Grove City, OH, was organized and run by Cliff and Sally Oiler. Both tournaments were hugely successful and have evolved into annual benefits for The Lynn Fund.

"We are going to use these two golf tournaments as a prototype to establish similar benefits in each of the 50 states, " said Gary Chiaverotti, a captain in the United States Navy. "Although we are starting small, we envision The Lynn Fund and its golf tournaments expanding each year as we work hand-in-hand with the Brain Injury Association and its chartered state affiliates."

Chiaverotti went on to explain the unique niche he feels the fund and the Lynn A. Chiaverotti Memorial Golf Tournaments fill for BIA and its cause. "The Lynn Fund is in a prime position to assist BIA in realizing a number of its strategic goals, specifically partnering with BIA in efforts to educate and raise public awareness about brain injury and helping to strengthen BIA’s capacity at the national and state levels."

After talks with both the national office and several BIA chartered state affiliates, Chiaverotti views the Lynn A. Chiaverotti Memorial Golf Tournaments as a fundraising/public awareness initiative that will serve to reinforce the relationship between BIA and its chartered state affiliates. Working with BIA’s Director of Development, Michele Burnett, two more additional golf tournaments in Wisconsin and Virginia are tentatively being planned for next year, along with the tournaments already in place in Florida and Ohio.

Approximately 120 individuals combined participated in the two golf tournaments, with most of them pledging not only to return for next year’s tournament, but also to bring additional supporters in the form of friends and family.

"The Lynn A. Chiaverotti Memorial Golf Tournaments are truly a grassroots effort of family and friends," applauded Burnett, who attended both tournaments as an official representative of BIA. "Using proceeds from these tournaments, we are going to continue to expand The Lynn Fund while simultaneously working to identify an outreach/education project to fund in the year 2000."

Both Chiaverotti and Burnett complimented the Brain Injury Association of Ohio (OBIA) for its support and help with the Ohio golf tournament. "The Brain Injury Association of Ohio not only volunteered to help out at the golf tournament, but also enlisted people to participate," said Burnett. Chiaverotti seconded the compliments saying, "The teamwork and effort that the Brain Injury Association of Ohio put forth for the golf tournament was incredible and exactly what I had hoped for with a combined national/state fundraiser."

As far as future goals go, Chiaverotti says simply, "I wish to use The Lynn Fund to ensure that all military personnel – especially those stationed overseas – are aware of brain injury and BIA." He continued. "I have been meeting with BIA and the Defense and Veterans Head Injury Program so that we will not duplicate efforts and reinvent the wheel – but rather work together on initiatives that will cover the full continuum of issues affecting individuals with brain injury, their family members and all military personnel."