A groundswell of support has followed the tragic injury suffered
by recent HHS graduate Honza Ripa as friends and classmates rally
to help the family pay the staggering costs of medical bills.
With the generous support of the community, friends have
mobilized to raise thousands of dollars through raffles and other
fundraisers. The website www.honzaripa.org has also been set
up to help with donations.Â
Ripa, the top golfer for the Greyhounds last spring, also
excelled on wrestling and cross-country teams in a standout high
school sports career at Healdsburg.
Just two weeks after graduation, he was critically injured in an
accident suffered on June 13 at Eagle Rock on the Russian River, a
popular local swimming spot. In the accident, he sustained
fractures to his C4 and C5 vertebrae, compressing the spinal cord
and leaving him paralyzed from the neck down.
Since then he has regained some sensation and feeling in his
arms and lower extremities, but is still breathing with the help of
a ventilator. He is currently in the Intensive Care Unit at Santa
Rosa Memorial Hospital awaiting transfer to another Bay Area
Hospital specializing in spinal cord injuries.
Golf tourney-dinner scheduled for July 27
On Monday, July 27, Healdsburg Golf Club at Tayman Park will
host a golf tournament and dinner to benefit the Honza Ripa
Recovery Fund. Check-in begins at 3 p.m. followed by a shotgun
start at 3:30.
A full dinner consisting of tri-tip, beer and/or wine will start
in the clubhouse at 7 p.m. The price for golf and dinner is $75
per person, but dinner-only tickets can be purchased at a price of
just $25. There will also be a live and silent auction. Â
A table will be set up to sell golf and dinner tickets at the
Farmer’s Market on July 18 in the parking lot behind the Bear
Republic in Healdsburg. Tickets will also be available at the
Farmer’s Market in the Healdsburg Plaza on July 21 at a table
sponsored by Ridgeview Farms. In addition, tickets will be sold on
Saturday, July 18, and July 25, at Big John’s Market in Healdsburg
from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m.
For tickets or more information, contact Brianna Angel
(228-9835), Traci Everitt (548-3542), or Grady Wann (975-5053).
