Additional photos by Steph & T. A. can be viewed here &
Additional photos by Expose Photography can be viewed here
Additional photos by Expose Photography can be viewed here
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| Fred Fredric, Founder of the Annual Fall Classic, shows off appreciation award |
Father’s often pass the
baton to their sons, and hope that their son’s carry the baton as well or
better than they did. Tim Fredric has certainly risen to the challenge, and as
is usually the case when the baton is passed, he has carried it an extra mile
in his first go round as Co-Chair of the 2014 Golf Committee for the 27th
Annual Fall Golf Classic Tournament to benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities
of Southwest Florida.
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| Tim Fredric & Laura Ragain preside over festivities at the award luncheon |
There were a few new
twists to the event as Tim Frederic stepped up to fill the ample shoes of his
dad, Fred Fredric: Ryan Sherry came on board, the event moved to Fiddlesticks
Country Club in Fort Myers (from Quail West in Naples last year), and a Celebrity
Pro-Am component was added to the golf tournament.
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| Ryan Sherry and Chris Doleman chat with Sheriff's deputies |
You know the saying that goes something like, “If you aren’t
moving forward, you are falling backward,” or words to that effect? After
observing the happenings at Fiddlesticks this past weekend (October 3 & 4),
I believe it’s safe to say that the 27th Annual was a giant step
forward in the noble effort to support the invaluable charitable work done by
the folks at Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southwest Florida.
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| A few of the event sponsors |
I’ll get to some of the new event elements, but prior to
that undertaking, let’s give loud shout-outs to some richly deserving entities.
Arthrex stepped up big once
again to serve as Title Sponsor of the Fall Classic, as it has done for the third
consecutive year. Earl & Margie Holland, Martin-Brower, Turano Baking Company were all previous Platinum Sponsors who
maintained their level of support this year. They were joined by Homewood Suites Fort Myers – Bell
Tower, Scanlon Auto Group
and Grampy’s Charities as
top-level sponsors.
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| Sponsor signs dotted the grounds at Fiddlesticks |
Other repeat sponsors included the Beasley Broadcast Group and Dr. Pepper, both displaying
their community generosity yet again as Gold Sponsors of the event. Silver
sponsors included Cameratta Companies, Gorton’s, Mortgage One, McDonald’s USA-
Florida Region; and Coca Cola and the Tilted Kilt sponsored
the Sponsor Party. There were too many generous contributors to name them all, but numerous community businesses did their part to make the event a success.
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| Fiddlesticks Director of Golf Jim Kurtzeborn announces winners |
What about the new elements of the event? Well, the Tournament Committee
(Co-Chairs Tim Frederic, AJ Lurie, & Ryan Sherry), along with the
other committee members (Teresa Beasley, Lee Bellamy, Leanna Gonzalez, Angela
Katz, Diana Lurie, Laura Ragain), did a bang-up job in collaboration with
Fiddlesticks Director of Golf Jim Kurtzeborn and his staff to make the event a
successful and memorable one.
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| Fiddlesticks Clubhouse |
As mentioned above,
Fiddlesticks was a new venue, and from all the celebrity commentary during the
practice round on Friday, as well as what was bantered about on Saturday,
Fiddlesticks was an outstanding choice.
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| George Vogel |
The course, Long Mean, was in great
shape, and the staff was as accommodating as one could hope for, from the Big
Kahuna (Jim Kurtzeborn to George Vogel, the congenial attendant in the parking
lot.
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| Nolan Henke (left) & Ryan Sherry |
Moving to a Celebrity
Pro-Am was a new feature of the Fall Classic, and that was courtesy of new
committee member Ryan Sherry. Getting Sherry on board could be considered a
stroke of genius, considering his prior experience with securing some of the
biggest names in sports history for celebrity events (see a prior Sherry production).
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| Aaron Sherry, Tony Womack, Ryan Sherry, Chris Doleman during Friday's practice round at Fiddlesticks |
With Ryan working the
phones, the 27th Annual’s inaugural celebrity component included record-setting
Olympians, NFL Hall of Famers, Super Bowl Champions, retired baseball stars,
boxing World Champions, a golf long drive champion, and even a soccer star! Interestingly
enough, some of those guys brought some game! NFL Hall of Famer Chris Doleman
of my Minnesota Vikings, Tony Womack, a World Champion with the Arizona
Diamondbacks in 2001, and others showed some real golf prowess on the links.
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| Terry Jo Myers lines up putt while the Fredricks look on |
But Fort Myers has its
own “stars,” and they turned out in support of the Ronald McDonald House as
well. PGA and LPGA Tour players Nolan Henke and Terry Jo Myers added their
special touches to the festivities, and if you know anything about Terry Jo,
you know she can be festive. Nolan, well, Nolan was Nolan: just nice and easy.
Both were really good hosts though, and politely allowed other celebrities to
claim the top prizes.
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| OJ Anderson's 3rd Place group |
The celebrity member of
the third-place group was O.J. Anderson, MVP of Super
Bowl XXV in 1991 when playing with the New York Giants. You would have
been hard pressed to find a more entertaining celebrity among the distinguished
group. Not all celebrities get it, as far as interacting with the participants,
and realizing that the event isn’t really about them, but OJ did.
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| 2nd-Place team minus Victor Green |
Victor Greene, a member of the New York Jets All-Time Four Decade Team,
turned out to be a real golf fanatic, going back out to the links after the
event was finished. His team took home the second-place prize. The top team of
the 27th Annual Fall Golf Classic
Tournament had a ringer as its celebrity. If you Google Lathan Atkinson you’ll
find that he was touted as a professional golfer who was signed by Oakley Golf
to endorse their product.
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| 1st-Place Lathan Atkinson Group |
In any event, Atkinson, Rudy Garcia, Bill Bolling, Chris Cedric, and
Brian Wischnak will go down in history as the winner of the Inaugural Celebrity
Pro-Am component of the Fall Classic Tournament to benefit the Ronald McDonald
House Charities of Southwest Florida.
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| Tiffany Lee tells her story |
As much as the
celebrities are worthy of the accolades and attention they received, the
participants who made the cash contributions to the cause, who showed up to
play Long Mean and mingle with those celebs are to be celebrated as well.
Without them, there would be no event, and there wouldn’t be moments like there
were when the crowded room heard from Tiffany Lee, a recipient of Ronald
McDonald House generosity.
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| Andre Reed during Friday's practice round at Fiddlesticks |
As Tiffany recounted her
story, including what the assistance from the Ronald McDonald House had meant
to her and her family, tears flowed freely…and they weren’t all hers. Somehow I
believe she was inspirational in Andre Reed answering the call for additional
funding with a $1000 pledge, and the similar response from other participants
in the room.
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| Captain Carmine Marceno |
If the number and quality of celebrities (for example, world and Olympic
record holder Bob Beamon was in attendance), the generosity of the sponsors,
and the sheer number of participants didn’t convince you of the magnitude of
the event, perhaps the
cooperation and participation of the Lee County
Sheriff’s Office will. Captain Carmine Marceno and several deputies were on
hand as the Sheriff’s helicopter dropped the golf balls for the Golf Ball Drop
fundraiser.
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| Generous Jennifer Neilsen gets congrats |
Jennifer Neilson was the lucky winner of the Golf Ball Drop, and she was
ecstatic when Laura Ragain, Executive Director of the Southwest Chapter of
Ronald McDonald House Charities, called her name as the lucky winner. In a
spontaneous expression of character, Jennifer promptly turned around and added
the entire $2700 she had won to the monies raised by the event. How about that
for generosity!
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| Geoff
Chong, Adam Singer, Briana Hovis- Members of Fiddlesticks golf staff |
All in all, the collaboration among members of the Southwest Florida golf
community, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southwest Florida, local
businesses, the Lee County Sheriff, individual golfers, and the incredible
staff of Fiddlesticks Country Club raised $30,500 during the 27th Annual Fall Golf Classic Tournament.
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| Laura Ragain- Executive Director of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southwest Florida |
Steph and I would like to add our voice to the Lees, and the hundreds of
families who will benefit from the proceeds of the event in offering a HUGE
thank you to all of the organizers, volunteers and participants of the 27th
Annual Fall Golf Classic Tournament
to benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southwest Florida. Special thanks
to Ryan Sherry for bringing the event to our attention! We'll be looking forward to next year's event, and I'm looking to get on Chris Doleman's team. Hey, he is a former Viking, and yes, however woeful, the Vikings are my team. Whadda ya say Chris? It is for charity :). Again, well done to all who contributed to the fantastic success of the 27th Annual!
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| T. A. & Steph Niles |
