CONCERT 08 | GOLF 08 | GOLF 07 | GOLF 06 | GOLF 05 | CONCERT 03

WALK 02 | WALK 01 | WALK 00 | WALK 99 | WALK 98 | MORE

 

presents the

August 8, 2005

All photos are used by permission and are not to be reproduced, copied or sold. All rights reserved.

THE FIRST ANNUAL Carl Wilson Foundation Scramble Against Cancer was a great success, with around 60 golfers participating, including CWF's Billy Hinsche and Justyn Wilson (Carl's son), as well as Carl B. Wilson (Dennis' son), Justyn's friends Steve Wachler and Luke Emery, Terry & Annie Wilson Karges (Justyn's mom). Players competed in foursomes, in a scramble tourney with a shotgun start, held at Gull Lake View Golf Club and Resort in Augusta, Michigan, on the Gull Lake View East course. Scroll down for a detailed account and photos of the day's events!

photo copyright © 2005, Todd Carlson Tim Johnson teeing off

photo copyright © 2005, Todd Carlson Indianapolis Beach Boys fan (left) Randy Hutchinson chats with Billy Hinsche. photo copyright © 2005, Todd Carlson In the clubhouse, right to left: CWF's Justyn Wilson, Steve Wachler (Justyn's good buddy), and Anthony Calomeni (sponsor from Raymond James Financial, background).

FUN, FUN, FUN FUNDRAISERS

We started off the day getting everyone checked in and selling string and Mulligan tickets for those individuals who were willing to “pay the price” to win the tournament. The games we had arranged for fundraising were a big hit! We sold Mulligan tickets for $5 each or 5 for $20. A Mulligan is basically a second chance -- so if you hit a terrible shot, you take out one of your Mulligan tickets and do it again. We also sold string for $1 per inch. The string is meant to seal the deal on those putts you leave just a few inches short. If a team took their putt for birdie and all of them missed it, they could use a piece of their string equal to the shortest putt landed to the cup, and consider the putt made. Folks were purchasing string like crazy, some were purchasing up to five feet at a time! Our last fund raising game was the card game. On a five hundred yard par 5, you had the option to “buy a card” for $10 each. Depending on the draw (jack, queen, king, or ace), team members could dramatically shorten their tee-off yardage. Obviously, some folks kept drawing until they finally got the ace -- everyone seemed to get quite a kick out of this game.

photo copyright © 2005, Todd Carlson In Bloom's Carl Benton Wilson (foreground), with Tim Howard of Miller-IHS Distributing.

LET'S SCRAMBLE!

Once everyone was checked in, Gull Lake View's Jack Kosin took event organizer Karen Carlson out to the front of the course to set off a miniature cannon (although it certainly didn't sound miniature!) to start the event. The golfers were off! They then went from hole to hole while the volunteers drove around in golf carts, selling more string and Mulligan tickets to those who had run out and delivering beverages. After the ninth hole, everyone stopped into the clubhouse for a burger and brat BBQ lunch and then took back to the course for the remaining nine holes.

photo copyright © 2005, Todd Carlson Participants watching the $10K “hole-in-one” hole..   photo copyright © 2005, Todd Carlson Scramble volunteers, left to right: Melinda Koldenhof, Catherine Stassek, and Eileen Ong in the golf cart, and Katie Reed, standing.

DINNER & SILENT AUCTION

After everyone had completed their eighteen holes, they came into the clubhouse, took a peek at the silent auction items and sat down to enjoy a pre-dinner beverage. While the buffet was being brought out, Justyn made a very nice speech explaining the foundation and its origin and thanking all of the participants. While everyone was enjoying dinner, Justyn and Billy went from table to table, shaking everyone's hand, introducing themselves and personally thanking each person for participating -- very nice touch. While dinner was wrapping up, awards were given for longest putt, men's and women's longest drive and closest to the pin as well as announced the winners of the silent auction.

photo copyright © 2005, Todd Carlson Silent auction items included a Gibson guitar by Gibson Guitars and a Fender acoustic guitar by The Guitar Center, both in Kalamazoo, MI. The hockey player is three-time Stanley Cup winning Darren McCarty, and the photo and puck were donated by the McCarty Cancer Foundation..   photo copyright © 2005, Todd Carlson Close-up of the Gibson ES-137 Heritage Sunburst guitar signed by Billy Hinsche, Justyn Wilson, and Carl B. Wilson. This prized auction item was won by Todd Carlson, who presented the guitar to his wife Karen as a memento of the event.

“As everyone began to leave, I was approached by at least one person from each team telling me how wonderful the event was, how much they enjoyed themselves and how not only were they coming back for next year's event, but how they were going to spread the word and recruit their friends and colleagues to participate next year as well.

“All in all, it was a great day. Usually when an event such as this begins, it is lucky to have 7-8 teams of four to start with, building more by word of mouth every year. We began The First Annual Carl Wilson Foundation Scramble Against Cancer with 14 teams of four on our first year and will most likely at least double that for next year based on the feedback we have received.”

--Karen Carlson