Greg Cummings speaks with John DePaola about how Bo’s Effort turned one family’s loss into a growing community movement for mental health awareness, healing, education, and hope...
John DePaola and Bo’s Effort are using the Long Home Golf Classic to break the stigma around mental illness, support mental health scholarships, and unite Maryland communities through awareness, family support, and lasting impact.
The Long Home Golf Classic has become more than a day of golf. It has become a day of hope, love, and support for families touched by mental illness. Through Bo’s Effort, John DePaola and his family are helping break the stigma around mental illness in Maryland communities by sharing the story of their late son, Bo DePaola. What began as a way to honor Bo’s life has grown into a community movement for mental health awareness, family support, education, and healing.
At the event, Greg Cummings, CEO of Power100, spent time with attendees and spoke with John DePaola, father to Bo and founder of Bo’s Effort. Their rapid fire interview gave a clear look into why this event matters. John shared how the community first came together after Bo’s passing and how that support has continued to grow year after year. The Long Home Golf Classic and Bo’s Effort partnership now stands as a powerful example of how home improvement leaders, local families, and businesses can come together for a cause that reaches far beyond business.
Power100’s presence at the event reflects its deeper mission to highlight leaders and organizations making real impact in the home improvement industry and beyond. Power100 is the only unbiased third-party platform that recognizes and elevates the top leaders and most impactful companies in the home improvement industry.
By covering the Bo’s Effort Golf Tournament, Power100 is helping bring more visibility to a mission that supports mental health awareness, future mental health professionals, pediatric mental health care, and families who often feel alone in their struggle.
For many years, the home improvement industry has been judged by growth, sales, service, and company success. But the Long Home Golf Classic shows another side of leadership. It shows that the most powerful leaders are also the ones who show up for people, families, and causes that matter.
At Bo’s Effort, the conversation was not only about business. It was about mental wellness. It was about family support. It was about grief, hope, and the power of a community that refuses to let one family carry pain alone. John DePaola’s story gives this press release its heart. As the father of Bo, John has helped turn personal loss into long-term impact through Bo’s Effort, its annual golf tournament, its scholarship work, and its support for mental health education.
In his conversation with Greg Cummings, John shared how the event grew beyond what his family first imagined.
“When we started, we did it in Bo’s honor and the community rallied around it,” John DePaola said.
He also shared that in the early years, someone told them that if they got three good years out of the event, that would be a win. Now, Bo’s Effort has continued for years, bringing together golfers, families, friends, sponsors, and supporters who believe in the same mission.
That simple reflection shows why this event is more than a memorial. It is a living legacy. It is a mental health charity event in Maryland that helps people talk about mental illness with more care, less shame, and more hope.
During the Long Home Golf Classic, one of the most meaningful moments came through the rapid fire conversation between Greg Cummings and John DePaola, father to Bo DePaola and co-founder of Bo’s Effort. Their discussion was simple, honest, and deeply human. Instead of focusing on business growth or industry trends, the conversation focused on family, grief, healing, and the power of community support.
As hundreds of attendees gathered across two golf courses in Maryland, the interview helped people understand why the Bo’s Effort Golf Tournament has become one of the most impactful mental health charity events in Maryland. It also revealed how one family’s personal loss grew into a movement helping break the stigma around mental illness in Maryland communities.
John’s words gave the event its emotional center. His reflections showed how the mission has continued growing because families, businesses, friends, and supporters chose to stand together around mental health awareness instead of avoiding difficult conversations.
At the center of Bo’s Effort is the story of Bo DePaola, a young man who battled bipolar disorder and the daily challenges that came with mental illness. His struggles affected not only him, but also his family, who spent years trying to help him navigate life, anxiety, and emotional pain.
Rather than hiding that pain, John DePaola and his family chose to speak openly about it. That decision changed everything. It gave mental illness a human face and helped other families feel less alone in their own struggles.
Bo’s Effort continues to help people understand that mental illness does not only affect one person. It affects parents, siblings, friends, classmates, and entire communities. By sharing Bo’s story publicly, the organization has created space for more honest conversations about mental wellness, emotional support, and healing.
During the interview, John reflected on how the movement first began.
“When we started, we did it in Bo’s honor and the community rallied around it,” John DePaola shared.
That simple statement captured the heart behind the mission. What started as a way to honor a son and brother slowly became a larger movement for mental health awareness and family advocacy.
Today, the Bo’s Effort Golf Tournament continues helping families speak more openly about mental illness while connecting people to support, education, and hope.
One of the strongest themes from John DePaola’s conversation was the role the community played in helping Bo’s Effort grow into what it is today. The Long Home Golf Classic is no longer just a family event. It has become a shared mission supported by local businesses, golfers, sponsors, healthcare leaders, and families throughout Maryland.
This year’s event brought together 240 golfers across two courses along with hundreds of attendees who came to support mental health awareness and community healing. The size of the event reflected something much bigger than attendance numbers. It reflected unity.
Mental illness often causes people to suffer in silence. Families can feel isolated and overwhelmed. Events like the Bo’s Effort Golf Tournament help break that isolation by showing people they are not alone.
John spoke emotionally about what it means to see so many people continue showing up year after year.
“Just to see the family friends, we have 240 golfers, two courses, but just to see everybody come together, have a great day. It means a lot,” John DePaola said.
That feeling of togetherness has become one of the most important parts of the event. It is why many people now view the Long Home Golf Classic and Bo’s Effort partnership as more than a fundraiser. It has become a symbol of compassion, support, and shared responsibility around mental health advocacy.
The growing support around the event also shows how the home improvement industry is helping lead important conversations about emotional wellness and community care.
For many families, mental illness is still surrounded by shame, fear, and misunderstanding. Bo’s Effort was created to challenge that silence through awareness, education, and open conversation.
Instead of avoiding difficult topics, the organization continues encouraging families to talk openly about mental health struggles and emotional wellness. That openness has become one of the reasons the movement continues growing each year.
Bo’s Effort is helping normalize conversations that many people once felt uncomfortable having publicly. The event creates a safe space where mental health awareness becomes part of a larger conversation about compassion, support, and understanding.
The organization’s impact goes beyond words. It has created real action through partnerships, education programs, and scholarships for students pursuing careers connected to mental health support.
This mission has become especially important as more communities across the country continue facing rising mental health challenges among young people and families.
By openly sharing Bo’s story and the reality of bipolar disorder, the DePaola family is helping other families feel seen, understood, and supported.
The movement is proving that awareness starts with honesty and that healing often begins when people stop suffering in silence.
As Bo’s Effort continued growing, the mission expanded far beyond the annual golf tournament. Today, the organization is helping build long term support systems through education, scholarships, and healthcare partnerships focused on mental wellness.
One of the organization’s most important initiatives is its partnership with Scholarships for Scholars. Through this program, Bo’s Effort awards scholarships to high school seniors who either plan to pursue careers in mental health or who have personally experienced the effects of mental illness in their own lives.
These scholarships help students pay for tuition, books, housing, and education costs while encouraging the next generation of mental health advocates and healthcare professionals.
The organization has also partnered with Luminis Health Anne Arundel Medical Center to support mental health care and education. In 2025, Bo’s Effort presented a $100,000 check toward pediatric mental health support, helping strengthen resources for children and families facing mental health challenges.
These efforts show that Bo’s Effort is not only raising awareness. It is creating measurable community impact through action, investment, and long term support.
The work being done through these scholarship and healthcare programs is helping transform the way communities approach mental wellness, especially among young people and families.
Another powerful part of the event was the tone of the conversation itself. The rapid fire interview between Greg Cummings and John DePaola did not feel scripted or corporate. It felt personal, respectful, and real.
That sincerity helped the conversation connect with attendees on a deeper level. Instead of presenting leadership through titles or achievements, the discussion showed leadership through empathy, honesty, and presence.
Events like the Long Home Golf Classic are helping redefine what leadership looks like in the home improvement industry. More leaders are recognizing that real influence comes from how people serve others, support communities, and show up during difficult moments.
The conversation also reflected how community leaders and businesses are rallying around the Bo’s Effort mental health movement not because they have to, but because they genuinely believe in the mission.
Greg Cummings’ presence at the event helped amplify these conversations while bringing more visibility to organizations and leaders creating meaningful community impact beyond business success.
The event reminded attendees that some of the most important conversations happening in the industry today are not only about work. They are about people, families, emotional wellness, and creating stronger communities together.
One of the most emotional moments from the interview came when John reflected on the early days of the event and how far the mission has come.
“We said if we get three good years out of this, that’s a win,” John DePaola shared.
Now, Bo’s Effort is approaching another major milestone as preparations begin for the 2026 Bo’s Effort Golf Tournament at Queenstown Harbor.
That growth speaks to something much bigger than event success. It reflects how deeply the mission continues resonating with families, businesses, healthcare organizations, and local communities.
What began as a memorial has become a lasting movement for mental health awareness, education, and advocacy. Year after year, more people continue joining the cause because the need for compassion, understanding, and emotional support remains very real.
The upcoming event represents another step forward in helping families feel supported while continuing the work of breaking the stigma around mental illness through awareness and community action.
As Bo’s Effort moves toward its next chapter, the mission continues carrying Bo’s story forward while helping countless others feel less alone in theirs.
As the day came to a close at the Long Home Golf Classic, the meaning behind Bo’s Effort felt even bigger than the event itself. What started years ago as a way for one family to honor the life of their son has now become a lasting source of hope, healing, and support for countless others.
Today, Bo’s Effort stands as proof that even through loss, something meaningful can still grow. Through mental health awareness, scholarship programs, healthcare partnerships, and open conversations, the movement continues helping families feel seen, heard, and supported. It is creating a future where conversations about mental illness are met with more compassion and less silence.
John DePaola’s reflections during his conversation with Greg Cummings reminded attendees why the mission continues resonating so deeply with people year after year. The continued growth of the Bo’s Effort Golf Tournament shows what can happen when a community chooses to stand together around care, understanding, and purpose.
Every golfer, sponsor, attendee, healthcare partner, business leader, family member, and volunteer who gathered at the event is now part of something much larger than a single day on the golf course. They are helping build a growing movement focused on breaking the stigma surrounding mental illness while creating stronger support systems for future generations.
As Bo’s Effort prepares for the 2026 Bo’s Effort Golf Tournament at Queenstown Harbor on Monday, May 18, 2026, the mission continues moving forward with the same heart that started it all: making sure families facing mental health struggles never feel alone.
Power100 covers stories like Bo’s Effort because strong leadership is not only about company growth. It is also about how leaders, companies, and partners support people and communities. Power100 highlights leaders and organizations shaping the future of home services through interviews, rankings, events, and industry storytelling.
Power100 uses an independent platform to spotlight CEOs, companies, and partners that stand out in leadership, culture, customer experience, innovation, growth, and community impact. This helps homeowners, partners, and industry professionals see leaders who are not only building strong businesses, but also creating value beyond the jobsite.
Bo’s Effort Golf Tournament is an annual charity golf event created to support mental health awareness and help break the stigma around mental illness. The 2026 Bo’s Effort Golf Tournament is scheduled for Monday, May 18, 2026, at Queenstown Harbor.
Bo’s Effort was founded by the DePaola family in honor of Bo DePaola. The mission was created to carry Bo’s story forward, raise awareness about mental illness, support families, and help communities talk more openly about mental health struggles.
Bo’s Effort helps break the stigma by turning a deeply personal family story into public awareness, education, and community action. Through the golf tournament, scholarships, healthcare partnerships, and open conversations, Bo’s Effort gives families a safe way to talk about mental illness with more compassion and less shame.
The Long Home Golf Classic brings golfers, families, sponsors, business leaders, and community members together around one shared cause. The event helps raise visibility for Bo’s Effort while supporting mental health awareness, education, and family advocacy.
Bo’s Effort supports mental health related scholarships through partners such as Scholarships for Scholars and Luminis Health Anne Arundel Medical Center. These efforts help students pursuing mental health careers, students impacted by mental illness, and healthcare workers advancing their education. Bo’s Effort has also supported pediatric and adolescent mental health initiatives through its work with Luminis Health Anne Arundel Medical Center Foundation’s Building Traditions Society.
People can support the 2026 Bo’s Effort Golf Tournament by donating, becoming a sponsor, or joining the waitlist for golf participation. The official Bo’s Effort website notes that golf is sold out for the 2026 tournament, but sponsorship opportunities are still available.
Power100 is the only unbiased third-party platform that recognizes and elevates the top leaders and most impactful companies in the home improvement industry.
Created to serve the exterior remodeling and home improvement space, Power100 gives great CEOs, companies, and industry partners the recognition they deserve. Its mission is to be the number one external resource for the best exterior remodeling CEOs in the country by helping spotlight leaders who are building stronger companies, better teams, better customer experiences, and more trusted industry standards.
Through interviews, events, rankings, media features, and leadership conversations, Power100 helps bring attention to the people and companies moving the industry forward. The platform gives contractors, partners, and industry professionals a trusted place to discover leaders who are making a real difference, not only through growth, but through service, culture, innovation, and community impact.
Led by Greg Cummings, Power100 continues to amplify stories that show the deeper side of leadership in home improvement. From business growth to human impact, the platform highlights leaders and organizations that are helping shape a stronger future for the industry.
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Power100 is the nation's premier CEO ranking and media platform for the home improvement industry. Using a proprietary 5-layer evaluation system, Power100 identifies and celebrates the top CEOs, companies, and strategic partners driving innovation, customer satisfaction, and leadership excellence across the country.
