Bowling for a Cause
On January 15th, friends and former students of Patrick Coughlin will be joining together at Airport Lanes in Wayland Michigan to participate in a Bowl-A-Thon. Coughlin passed away at the age of 39 on Christmas day and left behind a wife and four kids. His loss has effected thousands around the Wayland area and many more that are unheard of. For those of you who don’t know who Patrick Coughlin was. He was a principal, former teacher, high school football coach, and big part of the community in Wayland Michigan.
One of my fondest memories of Coughlin is one of the reasons I am participating in this event. In December of 1997 when I was in 6th grade I was also on a bowling league in Middleville at the Midvilla. At the time I was only carrying a 90 average and I wasn’t very good. On December 13th 1997, Mr. Coughlin the teacher came to watch his student bowl. I was really shocked by this and realized at the time that Patrick was no ordinary teacher or human being. He wanted to bring out the best in people who he knew and cared about it. The final game I bowled that day, I ended bowling a 177 which was my highest game at the point in my life. I’ve always told myself when Mr. Coughlin showed up that day something in me switched and I became more motivated then ever. I still have the plaque that I received from bowling that game. It sits proudly on my window seal and it’s something I will never ever forget.
We are putting on this Bowl-A-Thon for a wonderful man who touched a lot of peoples lives. We are accepting two types of donations. We are accepting flat donations or if you would like to donate per pin. If you would like to donate per pin we would ask that you be at the bowling alley the day of the event so we can keep track of the money we are earning. If you don’t have cash, or can’t make it to the event, please make checks out to the Patrick Coughlin Memorial Fund. Thank you for your continued support to the Coughlin family.
The address to the bowl alley is:
Airport Lanes
1095 137th Avenue
Wayland MI 49348
The Bowl-A-Thon starts at 4pm on January 15th.
