I have to go way back to 1989 to the first charity golf tournament that I  played.  It was at the Wascana Country Club in Regina, SK and it was called the Dick and Betty Bell Cosmopolitan Golf Classic.  This tournament was a fund raiser for the Cosmopolitan Activity Centre.  I believe the Centre was the first recycling plant in Regina and employed mentally and physically challenged people.

I am pretty sure it was my friend June Hudyma’s son Wade who was the Pro at the club that suggested to June and me that we should play in this tournament.  The entry fee was $110.00 and some of that was a taxable  donation.  The format for this tournament is what is called a Texas Scramble.  This is basically a game where you play from the best position of the four shots and repeat till you finish each hole.  It is very advantageous to have long ball hitters and good putters in your foresome.  The team I was on came in First and we were each the recipients of a Seiko watch and a framed photograph of the 6th hole at the Wascana Golf Course.  This photograph was by Doug Rafuse, one of the members of the club and a well known photographer.  I played in this tournament many times but was on the winning team only once.

For ten years I played in the Ronald McDonald Tournament in Saskatoon in support of the Ronald McDonald House.  I still have the Ronald McDonald Umbrella that was given to all recipients in the first tournament and has never been used!

When I was working with Claire Quinlan at the Howard Johnson Hotel in Canmore, AB I played in two Rotary Club Charity tournaments.  One at the Silver Tip Resort and one a the Canmore Golf Club.
August 31, 2016 was the first charity tournament I played in for the Calgary Rotary Club, Tournament of Diamonds. This was played at Silverwing Golf Club and we had more than one fly-over being adjacent to the Calgary Airport.

Our team was lacking in birdies but not for lack of trying. There was nothing missing in this tournament. Breakfast sandwiches and coffee was served after we checked in and we were soon on the course (8:45 a.m. shot gun start).  There was no shortage of food with the courtesy cart coming around often.  A special treat was on the tee box at one hole.  A station was set up with fish and chips made fresh while you waited.  And it was excellent with a crisp home made batter.

With four person teams you know you need to have birdies on almost every hole to be in the prizes.  First prize money was $1,200.00.  This makes for $300.00 per person!

The Renfrew Educational Services (one of the charities the tournament supported) Choir consisting of about a dozen children led the official opening of the banquet with the singing of “O Canada”.

My choice at the banquet was prime rib beef, baked potato and Caesar salad.  I have found that it is easy to take much more food than you eat at those occasions and now I take the right amount for me.  I checked to see if there were Nanimo Bars on the dessert table but there were none so I skipped dessert.

There was an Auction of donated items numbering NINE.  Dinners, Newspaper Advertising, Trips, Golf Packages, Golf Outings, Sports-Flames and Sports Paintings, Cottage for one week and a local artists Paintings  were on the auction block.  With the downturn of the economy there was not the usual outbidding.  Many items we sold at a very reasonable price.

It was a fun day and I was so thankful to Nikki and Kitch Wilson to be able to partake in this tournament.