Special
Event Stories
Cure PH Bug Boil
Texas Twofer Raises the Bar —With Bugs!
Tenth Annual Cure PH Golf
Tournament and First Bug Boil Keep Houston PHers Fighting for a Cure
By Deirdre Farrell
Former PHA Special Events Coordinator
The good folks in Houston, Texas, sure know how to
keep the fun going with two back-to-back events — a
unique twist on a legendary event! The weekend of
April 25, 2008, began with the Tenth Annual (and Final!)
Cure PH Golf Tournament and the fun didn’t stop until
guests of the First Cure PH Bug Boil gobbled the last
crawfish the next day.
On Friday, Congressman and PH research advocate
Kevin Brady spoke to hundreds of golfers before they
zoomed away on their carts to play. Congressman
Brady’s dedication to finding a cure for PH has raised
interest in the Capitol. It’s a fight he has taken up on
behalf of Emily Stibbs, a young PH patient and family
friend, and in memory of Kristen Cote, who passed away
from PH in 1999 at the age of 16. Kristen’s parents,
Bob and Anna, remain very involved with the Cure PH
fundraisers. The Cure PH Golf Tournament, which is
hosted in memory of of Kristen, continues the tradition of
awarding the Kristen Cote Memorial Cup, which features
the name of each year’s winning team.
After hitting the greens, golfers and friends bid on
impressive silent and live auction items while everyone
enjoyed dinner. Rino Aldrighetti, President of PHA, spoke
to the crowd about the incredible progress our community
has made since the first Cure PH Tournament. When
this tournament tradition began, he reminded us, there
was only one PH treatment available and only 100
treating physicians in the nation. The event has been
an important marker of the community’s progress,
momentum and success; today there are six FDAapproved
PH treatments, with the prospect of more on
the horizon, and thousands of physicians treating PH
patients across the United States. The hugely successful
tournament has raised nearly $1.6 million for PH
research since golfers first teed off a decade ago.
Though sundown saw the end of the longest
running annual PHA event, the next morning brought the
excitement and wonder of a new tradition — the First
Cure PH Bug Boil.
“Bugs,” for the uninitiated out there, are actually
crawfish. But this was much more than a crawfish feast.
(There was deep fried alligator and jambalaya too!) Family
and friends had a blast at this uniquely Texan event,
which invited the community to come out and learn about
PH — and the best way to eat a crawdad. The kids raced
crawfish across planks of wood while everyone listened
to a zydeco band.
Special thanks and congratulations to event
organizers and volunteers — Jack and Marcia Stibbs,
Matacha Saul, Cindy Cagle, Jamie Eichelberger and
everyone involved in this year’s event. The spirit and
energy of the event made it a huge success, and one
that’s sure to keep the fight for a cure going strong.
To view more pictures from the event, go to the
5K Run/Walk for a PH Cure Photo Gallery
