The Aaron Alcorn-Hole Memorial Tournament: An Interview with Ranjit Survanshi

In 2019, the world lost the beloved Aaron Alcorn to suicide. Aaron was admired for his fun-loving spirit, warmth, humor, and his inclusiveness—his constant desire to get a group of friends together for a good time. 

To honor his life and celebrate his birthday, a group of Aaron’s friends are inviting people to gather in Golden Gate Park play some cornhole, have some refreshments, and connect on October 21st. Winners of the Aaron Alcorn-hole Memorial Tournament can win tickets and a parking pass to a San Francisco 49ers game this season, among other donated prizes. 

MHASF sat down to speak with one of Aaron’s friends—and an organizer of this event—Ranjit Survanshi, to be left pondering an endearing conversation spanning the memories of a dear friend, Nick’s Crispy Tacos, and, of course, cornhole puns. 

You have such a touching story to tell. Can you share a little bit about how this tournament came to fruition? 

I met Aaron Alcorn in 2007 when I was looking for a place to live and responded to a posting on craigslist. We became roommates and instant friends. Aaron was the type of guy who was always up for a good time with a group of friends, whether it was playing sports, watching a game, exploring the city, or a weekend road trip. He loved bringing people together—he didn’t care about social circles or cliques. After I eventually moved out of the apartment, Aaron and I stayed close. He was a groomsman at my wedding, and continued to be a soccer teammate, bar-hopping buddy, and fellow football fanatic. When he moved to Reno in 2017, we stayed in touch and saw each other regularly. It came as an absolute shock when I got a call in February 2019 and was told that Aaron had died by suicide. I was devastated and confused. How could someone I knew so well—someone I claimed to be best friends with—suffer like that without me or any of his other friends knowing? He had so many people in his life who cared about him. Why didn’t he reach out to anyone for help? I realized I will never know the answer. I’ll have to live with that uncertainty and sadness for the rest of my life. But I also want Aaron’s memory to live on, and to try to have something positive come out of this tragedy. That’s why my friends and I started the Aaron Alcorn-Hole Memorial Tournament. 

Why a cornhole tournament?  

Aaron and I played a lot of games together—soccer, basketball, golf, ping pong, cards, board games—pretty much anything that turned us into hypercompetitive, well… jerks. Cornhole was the one game that always got us the most excited. The combination of a sunny day, good friends, cold beers and a silly lawn game was a never-fail recipe for fun. So, in the aftermath of Aaron’s death, when we started discussing the idea of how to memorialize him, a cornhole tournament for charity seemed like an obvious choice. 

What does it mean to you to honor your friend in this way?  

It means finding joy by keeping his memory alive. It means remembering what a great guy he was, and all the fun times we had, without ignoring how he died, and using that pain and sadness as a motivation to help others who may be struggling with mental health.  

Are there any memories you feel open to sharing? 

A couple lasting memories in my mind. The first time I met him, during the roommate interview, we were supposed to meet for 10 minutes, but ended up talking for an hour after discovering we had so many shared interests. You like football? I like football! You like The Simpsons? I like the Simpsons! You like Nick’s Crispy Tacos? I like Nick’s Crispy Tacos! And on and on… And the last time I saw him was a few months before he died. He made a surprise visit from Reno for my birthday party—bubble soccer in Golden Gate Park (of course, a silly lawn game). I remember him emerging from the woods with a huge grin on his face, just so excited to see his friends. 

What kind of community impact have you seen from putting this beautiful event together? 

I think this event has had two important effects. First, it brings Aaron’s friends and family together in celebration of his life. One of his lasting legacies is the broad friend group that grew around Aaron. Second, it helps create awareness for challenges with depression, allowing us to open a conversation and let people know that it’s not just okay to talk about it, but it’s actually necessary to talk about it. 

How does the role of community factor into Mental Health, in your opinion?  

It is huge. Depression by its nature is such an insular affliction. It makes you think you are the only one suffering, and that no one else would understand. That’s what makes it so dangerous. People suffer in silence, convinced life must be this way. Community resources and destigmatization are critical to strengthening mental health to get ahead of any self-destructive behavior. 

Why did you choose MHASF as the designated charity?  

I think MHASF’s Warm Line is the type of resource that could have helped Aaron. If he felt too embarrassed to discuss his depression with his friends, I think anonymous peer support could have led him in the right direction—to seek professional help and trust his loved ones to be there for him. 

What kind of difference do you hope this fundraiser will make? 

I hope the proceeds from this event go toward sustaining and expanding MHASF’s services and help more people learn about and use the Warm Line and other MHASF resources.  

How would you describe your skills as a cornhole player? On a scale of Average Joe to Michael Jorn-hole? 

I’m pretty good, but given that my teammate and I didn’t win the championship at the first Alcorn-hole tournament, I suppose you could call me Karl-hole Malone, or Charles Bark-holey, or Corn-melo Anthony… want me to keep going?

Yes Ranjit, we really hope you will.