Thumbs Up for Ward!

H

HardScrabble

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Six-year-old Dusty Duncan went out Friday night to get Ward Burton's autograph. What he may have gotten in addition to the autograph was a new shot at life. Dusty suffers from a cleft palate. It's a condition that doesn't threaten his life, but because of the way it affects his personal appearance, it does threaten his self-esteem. Especially for a 6-year-old. When Burton's helicopter landed at the Grandview autograph session, he immediately noticed Dusty. Sonja Duncan, Dusty's mother, said of Burton: "He looked two or three times at Dusty. All Dusty could say was, `That's Ward Burton.' " Dusty stood in line with his mother and father, Billy Duncan, and got his autograph. Afterward, as they were entering a nearby store, a security guard stopped them. The guard said that Burton wanted their name, Dusty's age and a phone number. They complied. Shortly after, the guard returned and said Burton wanted to talk to them after the autograph session was over. The Duncan family was ushered into a room at the store where they met Burton. They talked. Then Burton pulled Billy Duncan aside. "He asked what was wrong with Dusty," Sonja Duncan said. "He asked if it could be fixed and then he offered to pay for it. I was shocked," she said. Burton said Sunday: "I'm going to help him. I'm going to help with some funds." Burton said something about the boy just touched him. "I got kind of emotional when I saw him," Burton said, becoming emotional again. "I'm a sucker when it comes to children." Burton said he was impressed with the boy's attitude and said it was very evident he had the love of his mother and father. Dusty has already had eight surgeries in unsuccessful attempts to correct the problem. Dusty's sister, Angie, also was born with a cleft palate. Hers was successfully dealt with by two surgeries. Rita Ferguson, a friend of the Duncan family who was with them at the autograph session, said the Duncans "are not in position to take Dusty to a specialist." She also said that Dusty is at the age where he's been hearing about his appearance from friends. The Duncans said Burton told them he would be in touch early this week to work out the details of getting Dusty's life turned around. "I can't help everybody," Burton said. "This was something that just touched me."
 
Way to go Ward. The man talks funny but what a great guy.
 
Cool. That's what it's all about anyway, helping people when you can. Way to go Ward.
 
This just goes to show what kind of a man Ward is. I wish more sports figures would have this kind of attitude rather than get arrested for drugs, guns and domestic violence. I big thumbs up to Mr. & Mrs. Burton, they sure raised one hell of a man:calpping: :calpping:
 
Woo Hoo for Ward! He has always struck me as a very personable guy. There are so many GOOD things that these guys do that noone ever hears about. Thanks HS for that wonderful story. It made me cry. I too am a softie when it comes to children in need, but I could never do what Ward has offered to do for this boy. Once again, WOO HOO WARD!!!!!!!!
 
Ward burton defined the meaning of human compasion for his fellow man!

That is the things these drivers do that are so specail.

A Big Thumps up to Ward!

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
 
What a wonderful thing to do! Very often we hear terrible things about sports figures, and rarely the good.
Also, many that do good things toot their own horn in public then are abusive or addicted in their personal life.
I have NEVER heard a bad thing about Ward, always respected him, and NOW even more respect goes his way.
What a great guy!!!!!
 
Originally posted by nascarwoman
I wish more sports figures would have this kind of attitude rather than get arrested for drugs, guns and domestic violence.  
Click to expand...

A point I make over and over to friends who wonder about the popularity of NASCAR. I remind them of their football and baseball players' headlines. Drugs and violence over and over again.

Way to go Ward.
 
I knew we liked Ward for some great reason other than his accent. This story proves what great people some of these guys are. It shows that Ward has compassion for others, and can use his wealth to help those less fortunate. Being a father himself, I am sure that he has a soft spot for all children.
Great job, Ward. My daughter absolutley loves Ward, and this is just another reason to love him. Way to go, theah, buddy!
 
I have respect for another driver. That is just a very nice thing that Ward did and it shows great class on his part. There are a lot of other sports figures that bring out the negative and I appreciate it a lot when I hear stories about the ones that bring out the positive. My fav. tennis player gives loads of money to kids like the one that Ward met. Whenever she has free time she also visits them to make them happy...
 
Way to go Ward. Just gave me a warm feeling reading that story. A few tears too!! Wish I could do something like that for people. I've always had a soft spot for Ward even with his accent and now I'm glad I do. What a great thing to do.
 
:D That was really cool. My sister is a big Ward Burton fan so I emailed that to her.
 
Dude is just a class act. With what he does for wildlife preservation etc. (not at the expense of humans like the tree-huggers do) and other causes, he is just a great guy.
 
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