The Larry Kane Report

A year from today we will have a new President. That’s a guarantee, if there ever was one. Seven years ago, freezing rain was falling as I stood shivering on a camera stand hovering above the west front of the U.S. Capitol where George W. Bush was being sworn in. New beginnings are always exciting, no matter what your political views might be. I know that the President seemed very excited that day to become leader of the free world. Who could know about 9/11, although some experts in our government feared a day like that for years. No one could possibly envision that the President would go to war in Iraq, and let the perpetrators of 9/11 regroup, probably in the nation of our ally Pakistan.

Few of the pundits could see an administration fractured by war and abandoned by its own party. But that is what happens when leaders sometimes choose personal relationships over really talented people. As we mark January 20th of this year,  it might be a good idea for all those well-intentioned Presidential candidates to start thinking how they would govern, if they win.

The world is not as simple as many of them make it sound.  I find it so amazing that so many of you, who write to this space, have such a visionary outlook for the future, and yet, there is so little vision coming from the top-tier candidates. A lot of puff, so many promises, and nobody really thinking about tomorrow.

NOW TO THE “REILLY FACTOR.”

No, I am not talking about the Fox guy Bill O’Reilly. I’m talking about a local guy who goes unsung as a hero to so many young people. Will Reilly is the head professional at Twining Valley Golf Club in Upper Dublin. This past Thursday, the Professional Golf Association of America honored him with a second national award in three years. The award was for “growing the game of golf.” In 2005 he was honored as the number one advocate of youth golf in America.

All of his work is volunteer. He is involved in the Police Athletic League, First Tee, and so many efforts for so many young people in this area that it would take hours to report them. In local golf, he is a legend. In  national golf, and to the young people of this area, he is a great man, a symbol of how volunteerism can change lives.

Golf is a difficult sport. But so is life. And because of efforts by Will Reilly and other volunteers, there are thousands of young people learning the challenges of the game, and concurrently, of life itself.

I want to take this opportunity to congratulate Will and the organizations he represents, along with the Reilly family. his wife. his Mom and Dad, their seven children and 20 grandchildren.

Will has done something that no other golfer has ever done: win two rare national service awards from the PGA.  And that is the Reilly Factor,

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