Cornhole tournament organized to benefit local man's battle with Lou Gehrig's disease | Local News

Jason Palmer was an active sportsman and outdoorsman for most of his life and was also known as a hard-working and devoted father, husband and church member.

But in 2021, when he was diagnosed with ALS at age 42, Palmer had to focus heavily on constant testing and physical/mental therapy, medications, fitting new wheelchairs, and other difficult-to-accept “new normals.”

ALS, often called Lou Gehrig's syndrome, is a neurodegenerative disease that causes disruption of the upper and lower motor neurons in the brain that normally control voluntary muscle contractions.

Although Palmer is from Mesquite and lives in Forney, friends of his in Rockwall organized a benefit cornhole tournament at Shenaniganz for him and his family on September 28.

The tournament is organized by the Rockwall County Reapers Cornhole team. Participation costs $60 per team and is divided into four divisions: Backyard/Alumni (for beginners) and competitive doubles, starting at 11 a.m., and advanced doubles and social doubles, starting at 5 p.m.

To register, players must download the Scoreholio app to their smartphone and create a profile.

Registration for the individual divisions can be found at:

• Backyard/Alumni – https://tinyurl.com/wmrfudhh

• Competition doubles – https://tinyurl.com/45tr2rfs

• Advanced Doubles – https://tinyurl.com/2yyz277n

• Social Doppelgänger – https://tinyurl.com/3eezwp65

“We are teaming up with Shenaniganz… to raise as much money as we can to help cover all of his medical needs while he and his family battle the disease of ALS,” said a Facebook post from the Rockwall County Reapers. “So come on out, have fun, throw some bags and help support this family in their battle with ALS.”