West Genesee alumni will host a benefit for fellow classmate John McCarthy from noon to 6 p.m. May 1 at McNamara’s Pub, 5600 Newport Road, Camillus. John is fighting a rare form of leukemia called AML. He recently received a bone marrow transplant and is fighting this disease at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla.
John is a graduate of West Genesee High School and Cortland State College where he excelled in lacrosse and life. He played for Coach Messere at WG and was a key defensive player on the 1983 New York State Championship team. While at Cortland State John was a four-year starter; he was named team captain and received All American honors his senior year.
Bob Williams, who graduated from high school with John and roomed with him at Cortland State, said his friend’s attitude has been “fantastic” through this difficult time.
“He had some bad reactions to the chemo therapy … he’s just keeping a real positive attitude about it,” he said. “He knows he doesn’t have a choice but to fight it.”
After leaving Cortland, John spent a year as assistant coach at SUNY Potsdam. He then moved on start his professional career working for Oscar Mayer. He later moved on to his current company, Sara Lee, where he is a director of sales for the South East region; he resides in Orlando Florida. John and his wife Anne (also a WG grad) have three children: Jake, Kelly and David.
“Basically he’s just scared because he wants to be there for his kids,” Williams said. “He doesn’t want to let them down. He wants to be there and be able to support them.”
John has continued his dedication to the sport of lacrosse by coaching youth programs and helping to grow the sport in the state of Florida. His love and passion for the game is deep rooted and goes back to his childhood growing up in Camillus.
The goal of the benefit is to raise money and awareness, and to help support John and his family. Once John is released from the hospital he will need to spend the next several months in an apartment located near the Moffitt Center.
“Our goals its to raise close to $20,000,” Williams said. “That’s just a drop in the bucket for what he’s going to owe.”
Tickets are $20. For ticket or donation information, contact: Bob Williams, [email protected], 447-4251; Dave Mitson, [email protected], 952-2622; Susan Anderson, [email protected], 415-1601; Meghan Curry, [email protected], 491-3833; Mike Kesselring, [email protected] 585-329-1009; John McNerney, [email protected], 607-423-2252; or Neal Cunningham, [email protected], 559-4510.
Organizers are accepting both monetary donations and items for the auction. Anyone interested in becoming part of the bone marrow registry can go to BeTheMatch.org and enter the code BAHBAD.
