We are proud to announce that in 2021, we decided to honor Mark Minister with the creation of BRAIN’s Mark Minister Award! This annual award will recognize an inspiring survivor story at our BIA5K. The awardee will be selected by a panel of BRAIN members and the Minister family.
Thirty years after suffering a traumatic brain injury that left him with lifelong disabilities, Worthington native Mark Minister has been raising money for people who have suffered similar tragedies over the last 2 years. Mark and his wife, Brandy, have been fundraising for our annual Ohio State University Brain Injury Awareness 5K Run and 1 Mile Walk, and they have raised over $6,500 on their own!
We hope that the creation of the Mark Minister Award will continue to inspire brain injury survivors to make small steps towards big changes.
In 2021, Mark himself was the inaugural recipient of this award. You can view his speech below:
The 2022 award went to the Jack Gives Back Foundation, in honor of the late Jack Tusick.
The Jack Gives Back Foundation is a private family non profit foundation that was established to honor the life and memory of Jack Tusick. We feel as though Jack and this foundation strongly embody what it means to inspire and make small steps towards big changes. Jack had several severe congenital heart defects upon his birth, and Jack suffered a traumatic brain injury during his 3rd open heart surgery leaving him with significant deficits. His mother, Sandy, shared their story at our 6th Annual event, and we encourage everyone to learn about them at: https://www.jackgivesback.net/