The inaugural Memorial Ribbon Scholarship Golf Tournament was a huge success. We managed to obtain a large number of sponsors and corporate supporters as well as sell out, having a full 144 golfers come out and support this great cause.
The day was clear and a warm 26 degrees Celsius; which made for fast greens. Everyone showed up early and registration and assignments went with very few hiccups. The tee-off went out at 1:15 PM with three hole-in-one sponsors, including a Barnes Harley Davidson 2019 HD Heritage Classic, an all expense paid trip for two to Maui or Kona from Travel Best Bets and Travel Brands, as well as $35,000 cash from Millennium Logo gloves. Unfortunately, no one won these prizes; so maybe next year? The Range also sponsored the Longest Drive (Male and Female) contest, with the winners receiving $200 gift certificates to the Range in Langley. The golfers spent the afternoon having a great time on the fairways, and then came in for the amazing buffet dinner and silent/live auctions.
Our Emcee John Daly started the evening by selling spots in line to get the dinner, and managed to raise almost $800 (thank you very much!). We had many silent auction items as well as a few live auction items.
We had three amazing speakers talk about the impact the Police and Peace Officers’ Memorial Ribbon Society and the Society’s Scholarship program has had on their lives after experiencing the tragedy of losing a loved one. Chief Constable Mike Serr of Abbotsford PD started, followed by Survivor Fay Davidson (daughter of Abbotsford Constable John Davidson, murdered in 2017). It was Fay’s first time speaking about the tragedy, and she spoke from the heart. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room. The third speaker was Kathy Maurice, a Survivor and widow of a fallen officer. All three speakers talked of the tragedy; the loss of a hero; and how much the Society and Scholarship program has helped them.
Through this event, the Society managed to raise enough money under the Scholarship to support four children of fallen officers to attend a post-secondary institution of their choice for one year. We would like to thank our sponsors, supporters and especially the golfers for helping to raise an amazing amount of money for our first go-round on this fundraiser. We will be hosting a second golf tournament in 2020, so keep an eye out for details.