STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

Peyton Manning, one of the all-time great quarterbacks in the NFL, lofted a ball of praise  Higher Ground’s way Monday night as he talked about how the therapeutic recreation organization mirrored a good football team when it came to service and commitment.

“All of you by supporting this can have a huge impact on others, and it can have a huge impact on you, too,” he told the 200-plus in the sellout audience.

Manning was the keynote speaker at Higher Ground’s annual Hero’s Journey fundraiser to benefit Higher Ground’s program providing physical and emotional support for wounded veterans, first responders and other adults and youth with disabilities.

Katelyn Berman and her donkeys Moonshine and Leroy greeted guests with cold cans of beer in their baskets.

Cocktail hour started at 4 p.m. because of Manning’s schedule, but no one seemed to mind as it gave those from Ketchum and Sun Valley a chance to get ahead of the evening commute and wrap up dinner when there was still plenty of light.

The tall cottonwood trees at River Grove Ranch north of Hailey provided shade for those perusing a large array of silent auction items, checking out Tom and Elizabeth Tierney’s sculptures and helping themselves to a cold beer wrapped in ice and burlap in baskets draped across on Katelyn Berman’s donkeys Leroy and Moonshine.

“It’s like Nirvana to be able to offer our place for something like this,” said Gabrielle Tierney.

Manning was expressive, his hands moving as fast as they did when he was quarterbacking, as he shared quips and stories about his father Archie, a former quarterback with the New Orleans Saints, and his quarterback brother Eli, a two-time Super Bowl winner with the  New York Giants.

Shannon and Jason Kerrick show off some of the adaptive equipment that Higher Ground uses with its clients.

The Mannings are the most decorated quarterback family in NFL history with four Super Bowl championships. Peyton won two Super Bowls and was a five-time league MVP while playing with the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos.

Manning told the crowd, gathered around tables boasting white and green flowers, that he had great parents but they wondered if something was wrong with Eli when he entered the world at a mere 10 pounds in contrast to Peyton’s 12.

His father said, “No,” to a lot of things in the second chapter of his life that would’ve taken  him away from his family.

“My dad lost his father when he was in college and that had a huge impact on him,” he said. “I don’t miss baseball games with my kids.”

Muffy Davis caught a ride to the gala by hanging onto the back of a cart driven by her husband Jeff Burley.

His father charged him with taking control of the team as quarterback. “That’s your job as a leader,” he said.

But a young Peyton was a bit flummoxed as he entered his first huddle in college: “I was trying to find my words and finally one of the players said, ‘Hey, freshman, shut the blank up and call the blankety blanky play. I said, ‘Yes sir!’ ”

Manning was the first pick in the 1998 NFL draft.

“But you’re going to a team where there’s a reason they earned the first pick,” he said.

Hailey Police Chief Steve England was one of dozens of locals who volunteered at the event, in this case offering Sawtooth Club owner Tom Nickel an Asian wrap.

The 28 interceptions he threw during his rookie year is still an NFL record. But, after going 3 and 17 that year, he finished with 13 wins and three losses his second year.

Manning sang the praises of Tony Dungy, who won 12 games nearly every year as head coach of the Indianapolis from 2002-08. He won the division five times and clinched a Super Bowl.

“He treated me like a professional—I wanted to make that play for him. He never raised his voice but he was one of the greatest,” Manning said.

Asked what his alma mater was, Dungy said, “I Always do your best.”

“We all need a coach to get us back on track,” he said. He taught me that little things matter. When you let little things slide, that’s when you’re in trouble.”

Towards the end of his career, neck issues curtailed Manning’s throwing.

“I couldn’t throw a 100-mile-per-hour fastball anymore, but I learned I could still play football using shorter throws. The team was flexible and adaptive, and I learned about myself. I learned I could handle adversity.”

Manning eschewed a career in traditional broadcasting upon retirement to create Monday Night Football’s Manningcast, in which he and Eli watch and comment on the game.

“If you do traditional broadcasting, you’re gone every weekend. If you have kids playing flag football, you’re not going to their games,” said Manning, who donated two tickets to the Manningcast, along with hotel and dinner in Denver to the Higher Ground auction lot. “This way I get to be part of the game and I get to be part of my kids’ lives on the weekend.”

As he prepared to part, Manning had some words for frequent air passengers.

“Next time you hear the pilot say, ‘This plane cannot take off until all the cell phones are turned off and everyone’s seated,’ that’s not true,” he said. “Our team would often leave the airport, everybody standing up high fiving one another, sending pictures on their cellphones.”

Among those listening to Manning was Shannon Kerrick, a Wood River Valley native who sought out Higher Ground’s services after losing some of her physical functioning following a ski accident at Bogus Basin.  She’s skied with Higher Ground in Sun Valley and took part in a mountain bike camp last September.

The clinical social worker was still beaming from biking Forbidden Fruit in Adam’s Gulch using a pedal-assist recumbent bicycle when she showed up at Monday’s dinner.

“I decided I was going to go down Eve’s Gulch and I rode the entire thing. I couldn’t stop smiling. I’m getting my confidence back, and I’m getting stronger, as well.”

“It’s been cool watching her make progress,” said her husband Jason Kerrick, a helicopter pilot. “She’s participated with the Challenged Athletes in Boise, as well, but it’s more of a group thing where you only go as fast as the least skilled person in the group. Higher Ground offers more individual instruction, which is great for Shannon.”

Learn more about Higher Ground at www.highergroundusa.org.