This is what friends are for.
Former Georgia baseball player Johnathan Taylor will be honored at a benefit Saturday night at the Buckhead Theatre by friends and former teammates. Taylor was playing centerfield for the Diamond Dawgs last March when he collided with teammate Zach Cone while trying to catch a fly ball during a game at Foley Field in Athens. Taylor has been rehabilitating from the spinal injury since.
Former Diamond Dawg Chris Stowers followed the story from the day it happened through August, when he contacted both Johnathan and his mother Tandra. Stowers had never met Johnathan, but was moved to help aid in the former North Cobb star’s recovery.
Stowers, a former Bulldog outfielder who also played for the Expos in MLB, was able to get the Taylors’ contact information from Georgia assistant coach Jason Eller. Stowers set up a lunch with the Taylors to meet with them and tell them his idea. After the lunch, they gave Stowers the go-ahead to plan a benefit for Johnathan.
“(Stowers) is such a blessing,” gushed Tandra. “Chris is amazing, he does things from his heart.”
Since their initial lunch meeting, Stowers organized a committed called “Dawgs for JT” to help sell tickets and spread the word about the benefit.
“I saw what happened and followed the story,” said Stowers. “I talked to some people about putting something together to support Johnathan and the first goal was to raise enough money to underwrite the event.”
Thanks to the host committee he formed out of friends who were supportive of the benefit, Stowers was able to get the event of the ground and begin raising money for the event. The committee is accepting donations on DawgsforJT.com and is selling $25 tickets to the event. The donations have been put into a bank account and a check will be given to the Taylors after Saturday night’s event.
Johnathan, a junior, is back in Athens attending classes and working his way towards a degree in consumer economics. He was honored during a gymnastics meet last weekend by the athletics department.
“Now I see why my son loves UGA so much,” said Tandra. “It’s one tight family and they make you feel so loved. (Johnathan) has had so much support and love.”
Despite being in a wheelchair, Johnathan has been able to rejoin the baseball team as a student assistant. In this role, he attends games, sits in the dugout and works with the team as a student assistant.
“UGA has shown me a lot of love,” said Johnathan about how the school has supported him since the accident. “They’ve stayed in contact and shown me a lot of support.”
JT is usually able to make most of the home games and also attends road games like Georgia Tech, Clemson and possibly South Carolina.
“I try to help out as much as possible,” said Johnathan. “It is good to be around the guys and go to the games again.”
The event takes place Saturday night at the recently-renovated Buckhead Theatre, near the intersection of Peachtree and Roswell Roads. The theater, called the Roxy before the renovation, has been a central part of the Buckhead entertainment scene since its opening in 1930.
A hosted bar will open the festivities Saturday night at 8 p.m. DJ Jobe and Kurt Thomas will be providing the music. All proceeds from the event will go to Johnathan and his recovery.
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