I am delighted to be an Honorary Patron of The Mel Evans MBE Foundation. I have had a very keen interest in Crown Green Bowls for many years, having played the sport with my Father in Liverpool before finding my passion for snooker. I have always been an admirer of the skill demanded by the sport and have to admit I do enjoy watching my Bowls hero Noel Burrows!
I met Mel in my capacity as Patron of the British Crown Green Bowling Association and was struck by his professionalism and drive to promote Crown Green Bowls. We struck up a friendship instantly and it was a pleasure to work alongside him during our happy times spent at the ‘Wembley of Bowls’ – The Waterloo. I am aware Mel was on the cusp of great things in developing Crown Green Bowls when he received the very sad diagnosis of Motor Neurone Disease.
The Mel Evans MBE Foundation works relentlessly to both raise awareness and vitally needed research funding to support scientists to find more effective treatments and an eventual cure for this devastating illness. I always enjoy supporting as many events as I can and meeting up with old bowling pals. The Foundation is a small charity with colossal ambitions and I look forward to supporting this fantastic charity in 2024 and beyond.
Dear Lynn/Mel Evans MBE Foundation
I first met Lynn via social media channels following my successful completion of 7 Half Ironman Triathlons in 7 days, a story of endurance, passion, team work, enduring through pain, obstacles and never give up attitude, all of which I can associate truly with Lynn and the team, having spoken together, I joined Lynn on her remarkable 14 Bowling Club walk in 14 days, 20 long and enjoyable miles from Manchester to my home town Wigan, meeting various friends of the foundation.
Lynn has engaged many, in memory of Mel and to help make a change and end Motor Neurone Disease through funding research and awareness, joining myself also in the build up to the 800mile, 7 day Triathlon Impossible across Europe, a pleasure to meet once again in June 2023, in Orrell, many items on the agenda going forward, the latest was the magical evening in Leeds, November 2023, Masked Entertainer Gala Dinner, with Rob Burrow CBE, Marcus Stewart and many more
Here’s to 2024 and beyond..
I met Lynn at an MND Association event last year and was instantly in awe of her resilience and drive. We share an unfortunate similarity in that we are both touched by the awful disease MND. I am a patient living with the disease and Lynn lost her beloved husband Mel with a speed and ferocity that is inhumane.
What Lynn has and continues to achieve with the Mel Evans MBE Foundation is nothing short of miraculous. Having experience of the havoc this disease causes, she puts passion into everything she does, building not only a wonderful legacy to Mel, but also a focal point for people to direct their energies in the fight against MND. I 100% endorse the visions of the foundation, ‘Awareness’ which is desperately needed and ‘Research’ into effective treatments or maybe even a cure.
Lynn you are a true inspiration, on behalf of the whole community – thank you for all that you do.
I’m honoured to serve as a patron of the Mel Evans MBE Foundation. Motor Neurone Disease is one of the most cruel diseases that can impact an individual. With no cure, and limited treatments, the impact is devastating – not only on the person, but on their whole network of family and friends.
Within the bowling community, Mel Evans was both a fierce competitor and a driving force behind the development of the sport. When his diagnosis came, the sport lost a truly inspirational figure. Now is the time for the bowling community to unite and come together to support Mel’s Foundation in raising funds to support the vital research needed to ultimately find a cure – and prevent anyone else from being impacted by this horrendous disease.
I’m honoured to have been able to help support Lynn over the last few years, and I’m looking forward to supporting everything the Foundation does going forwards. Awareness of Motor Neurone Disease is growing daily. Throughout the 2022 ‘Walkathon’, we were blown away by how many people had been touched by the disease, and the generosity that they showed to our endeavours. By working together, amazing things can happen.
I am honoured to be a patron of the Mel Evans MBE Foundation. Sadly, I never met Mel but I see clearly how his amazing legacy lives on through the incredible work this charity performs. Always finding new ways to raise money, awareness and bang the drum for MND. They will have my support always.
The Mel Evans MBE Foundation has been established in honour of a wonderful person who gave so much to the sport of crown green bowling, whose life was sadly cut short by MND. The generous support of friends, colleagues and many people from the crown green bowling world is now supporting research and care for the benefit of people living with MND through the Mel Evans MBE Foundation.
Our mission at the Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN) is to harness advances in neuroscience and translate these into better outcomes for people living with MND. The Mel Evans MBE Foundation is supporting an excellent PhD candidate at SITraN (Laura Ellis) on a project to understand the role of mitochondria in the disease biology of MND and find neuroprotective treatments to improve mitochondrial function and energy generation in motor neurons and their neighbouring cells called astrocytes, that might in future slow the progression of MND in patients. We are installing a plaque in honour of Mel in one of our laboratories where this work takes place.
I first had the pleasure of meeting Lynn Prichatt in March 2023 when we hosted a visit to SITraN to explain our work programmes aiming to understand the mechanisms of motor neuron injury in MND and to devise new treatment approaches to improve the outlook for patients and families facing MND. I then greatly enjoyed the Masked Entertainer Gala Dinner in Leeds in November 2023 together with my husband, Professor Paul Ince. It was great fun and wonderful to see how well supported the event was, including attendance by MND sufferer and rugby legend Rob Burrow and his family. We are working to understand the mechanisms that link strenous physical activity with an increased risk for MND in susceptible individuals to be able to offer advice and find potential new therapeutic targets in future.
It is a real honour to write a testimonial for The Mel Evans Foundation.
Lynn first contacted me in 2022 when she sent a heartfelt letter along with funds raised for The Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease. I met her at the Brighouse Sports Club in August 2023 for the Crown Green Bowls/Rugby Pro/AM Charity Challenge and was touched by Lynn’s support, her focus and enthusiasm in supporting The Rob Burrow Centre at Leeds Hospitals NHS Trust. I am very grateful to The Mel Evans Foundation as they continue to fundraise for my vision for The Rob Burrow Centre by holding various fun events – The Masked Entertainer being my favourite as it brought so much joy and laughter to those attending. Whilst facing a deep personal tragedy, she has created The Mel Evans Foundation to support MND with a view to finding a cure and improve care, inspiring us all with her courage and resilience.
My name is Dave Merrick and I’m a retired rugby league referee from Pontefract in West Yorkshire. I first became aware of the fantastic work of the Mel Evans MBE Foundation when Lynn Pritchatt contacted me on Twitter to ask me if I wanted to get involved in her mammoth Walkathon for MND back in September 2022.
This was on the back of the swimming challenge I did myself at the end of 2021, where I swam 100 lengths a day for 54 days to raise funds and awareness of MND for my good friend and neighbour, the rugby league and Leeds Rhinos legend Rob Burrow CBE. As most of you will be aware Rob was struck down by MND in 2019 and is still battling the disease today, and this was my way of trying to do my bit as have so many others for such a worthy cause. I managed to raise over £10000 towards the Rob Burrow centre for MND and was honoured when Rob and his family came along to the pool on Christmas eve 2021 to see me finish. During the challenge I swam 5400 lengths of the 25m pool, which equates to 135000m or 84 miles.
So, when Lynn asked me to do the Yorkshire leg of her Walkathon, how could I refuse! So on the 12 of September 2022, we set off from Millhouse bowling club in Penistone, dressed in a bright blue wig, MND Association vest and the most fetching orange tutu, over the tops of the Pennines, stopping along the way for some cheeky sausage rolls and pork pies from a farm shop (donated of course), a cuppa at the famous Sid’s Café in Holmfirth, and onto our finish in Huddersfield. This was a day that will stick in my memory for life as I got to meet new friends from the bowling community and hearing how MND has affected Lynn and her family with the tragic loss of Mel.
Mates for Life are what we are now and whilst on the tops of the moors we came up with our idea of a Rugby/Bowls pro-am! More on that in a minute!
I kept in touch with Lynn, and she came over to Pontefract to support me on my next swimming challenge, where in March 2023 I swam 7km a day for 7 days, based on the theme of what Kevin Sinfield CBE did with his marathons. This one was tough, 280 lengths a day for 7 days, totalling over 2.5 hours in the pool at a time. But it was worth it again as I raised another £5000 towards the Rob Burrow centre for MND, and again Rob was there to see me home.
Fast forward to August Bank Holiday Monday 2023, and the Rugby/Bowls pro-am took place, at the Brighouse sports club and the day couldn’t have gone any better. All the top stars from the Crown Green Bowling world paired up with stars from Rugby League and the media. Warrington Wolves and England player James Harrison, Featherstone Rovers stars Mark Kheirallah, Jono Ford and Brad Day, Keara Bennett of the Leeds rhinos and England, former great Britain star Leon Pryce, Jamie Bloem super league player with Halifax and Huddersfield, Halifax star Adam o Brian, referee Ben Thaler, Dankia Primm former Leeds rhinos star, George Riley from radio and Tanya Arnold from BBC look north and Ross Fiddes also of the BBC, Ged Corcoran the Ireland head coach and last but not least Wayne Godwin former wigan, Castleford, Hull and Bradford player. All Hosted by the brilliant Pete Emmett.
The whole sports club at Brighouse got behind the day and well over £10000 was raised, and after a tough final Ross Fiddes and his partner lost out to yours truly and my partner Simon Coupe.
We are hoping to replicate this event again this year and trying to make it an annual event. To add to the other great events that the Mel Evans MBE Foundation have got planned throughout the year!
Lastly, as I know I’ve gone on, both Lynn and I were extremely honoured to be asked to run the extra mile with Kevin Sinfield at York racecourse in December last year, again another memory made that will last forever.
Yours in sport,
Dave Merrick, 2023 crown green bowling champion.
Lynn having chosen to support Leeds Hospitals Charity and the appeal for the Rob Burrows MND centre in Leeds has worked very collaboratively with us as a charity. Not only raising valuable funds by having worked hard at putting on some fabulous and fun events but supporting and embracing the MND community every step of the way. I cannot thank Lynn enough for the support that she has given and her wonderful way of building lasting and valuable relationships and ultimately the difference she is making for MND patients and their families.