18 FORE Life

Things have been crazy busy and crazy good around here. Summer came and went and now the fall weather makes for a beautiful time of year. Lets catch up on some of what we have going on at 18 FORE Life. Too much good stuff not to share!

The Ben Kruse Crappie Tournament

First time was a charm for Bruce and Amy Christian, Dain Bess, and a team of volunteers who made the idea of a fishing tournament happen in a BIG way. $7000 raised, 40 boats entered, and a great time by all who participated in the tournament held at Lake Wappappello. It was a wonderful day and the fishermen who know agreed the tournament was run flawlessly. Marty Poetz MC’d the weigh in, Doug Cox and Dallas Buchanan cooked some great food, and the atmosphere was perfect. This event will no doubt grow each year. Thanks to everyone who ran with this one.

Me and the Ugly C Released

Me and the Ugly C by Becky Dennington was released Wednesday, October 5th. The book is about Becky’s life during her battle and victory of breast cancer. This is an electronic book and can be purchased at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com and omnilit.com for $4.99. If you do not have a Nook, Kindle or iPad no worries…you can download a free reader program for your desktop or laptop computers as well as your Android, iPhone or Blackberry phones. LazyDay Publishing company will be donating 100% of their profits of Becky’s book to 18 FORE Life.

Dig P!NK

Dig Pink events have popped up all over southeast Missouri. Last night Dexter hosted a wonderful event raising $5000! Picture the Bearcat Event Center tricked out in PINK, the Lady Cats wearing PINK uniforms, PINK whistles being used by the referees, a PINK volleyball used in the games, and the cheering section dressed in…you guessed it, not RED and BLACK, but PINK, including 18 FORE Life t-shirts created for the occasion! The volleyball team, coaches, and Dexter Public schools should be commended for the effort in pulling this off. Still, this would NOT have happened without the organization and work of Stacy Blocker. PINK Volleyballs memorializing and honoring folks fighting cancer were sold, a silent auction took place, and funds were raised for the charity of their choice….18 FORE Life. We’ll have photos in our website soon.

Next up, Dig P!NK events at Bernie, Bloomfield, and Richland. The uniforms, purchased by Central Gardens nursing home, will travel and be worn by the home team and this spirit of fundraising is growing contagious.

This Run’s For Vaughn

This Run’s For Vaughn raised right at $5000 this past weekend. A beautiful day to raise money for area families fighting ALS and to remember a friend, father, husband, pastor, and leader: Vaughn Wright. The bake sale raised nearly $700. The food, prepared by Doug Cox and First Christian Church Men’s Group was amazing. A big thank you to Norman Hardy and First Commercial Bank for sponsoring the Tshirts given to the participants. Nearly 100 people walked or ran the 3 mile course. Challenge yourself to join us next year….YOU can do it!

September 10th marks the first ever Ben Kruse Charity Crappie Tournament with all proceeds going to 18 FORE Life! Dain Bess and Bruce Christian have led the way in working to organize this event at Lake Wappapello. The tournament entry fee is $100 per two man team/boat. Start time is 7:00AM and ends promptly at 2:00PM, with Redman Creek as the weigh in! Chicken wings will be furnished and Loins will be on sale for $25. The Raffles are amazing and include a Cajun Fish Fryer and a Cajun Grill (1 for $5 and 3 for $10). All participants can look forward to getting a T-shirt and having a chance at some great auction items. All proceeds go to 18 FORE Life/area families fighting cancer. Contact Bruce Christian at 624-4505 for more information and check out the entry fee included in this announcement!

Click here to download the registration form.

Article posted on the Daily Statesman summarizing our 2011 banquet held Friday night:

http://www.dailystatesman.com/story/1734096.html

Almost time!  One week from now, many of us will gather in Dexter to Celebrate, Give and Remember throughout the weekend of June 3-4.  We are excited and confident this will be one of our best events to date.  Here are some things to plan for and look forward to!

The banquet is shaping up to be a great night as usual.  Brian Holman is a pro and has one heck of a message.   Shawn Green is amazing in his own right and if you got to read the article in The Daily Statesman, you already understand Shawn “gets it”!  The Live! Auction will have items in it including a Sheryl Crow signed guitar, a hood panel from Dale Jr’s 88 Car, items from John Daly, Bubba Watson, Ian Poulter, John Cena, and several others.  The BUZZ will follow and close out the night of fun with some of your favorite Rock N Roll songs.

Our golf event is full!  86 teams of four have signed up.  We thank those of you who pre-registered and choose to make things easier on our volunteers.  If you have not paid up front, please get there early so we are not waiting on you to get through the line before teeing off.  If you are using one of our carts, they will be down near the driving range and we ask that you take them back to where you got them from when the event is over so we can have them ready for the next round!  There will be NO MULLIGANS this year and hopefully this will speed up play.

There will be plenty of fun, however, with the following holes worth noting:

• 3-Ladie’s Long Drive
• 4-Birdies for Breast Cancer-buy a PINK Ball and hit from the Red tees/keep the ball!
• 6-Closest to the PIN
• 8-Beta Sigma Jello Shots/Watering Hole
• 9-Men’s Long Drive
• Clubhouse-Golf Cart Raffle!!!!  Cart is beautiful and will be given away Saturday night/Need Not Be Present to Win!  You can also get tickets by stopping in at Allen Christian!
• 11-Closest to the Pin-2nd Shot
• 14-Closest to the Pin/Team Photo/Keith Urban Signed Guitar raffle-Need Not Be Present to Win
• 17th HOLE-Famous Montgomery Bank sponsored hole/Vegas Theme/Elvis may even be there!
• 18-Long Putt
• Silent Auction will be going on throughout the day and prizes will be given out after dinner.

This is going to be a wonderful weekend and we look forward to seeing everyone in Dexter.  Here is to a safe, fun time together raising money for a worthy cause.

If you think of any questions, please call or email!  And remember:  Hit You A Good One!

We’ve posted photos on Flickr from Ten Pins for Ben and the Dig Pink fundraisers.

Click here for Ten Pins for Ben photos here.

Click here for Dig Pink Photos here.

Enjoy!

Brian Holman

At this time, we would like to announce former Major League Baseball Pitcher Brian Holman as our guest speaker. You can view this YouTube video to learn more about Brian’s incredible baseball story. Add in a personal cancer story and you will know we are going to be in for a night of motivation, inspiration, courage, and hope…just as we have all come to expect and appreciate.

After a successful Major League Baseball career with the Montreal Expos, Cincinnati Reds, and Mariners, Brian was forced to retire due to an arm injury. Brian began his business career in 1995 and is currently the Managing Director of the Kansas City, KS office of Ronald Blue and Co. He is involved with many non-profit and philanthropic organizations and is a highly repected motivational speaker. We look forward to having Brian as our guest at Friday night’s banquet and also seeing him on the golf course Saturday morning.

Shawn Green

Our love offering recipient guest and speaker is none other than former Bernie resident Shawn Green. You will remember Shawn as one of “The Twins” from the Bernie Mule’s basketball teams of the early 1990’s. A chronic headache led him to the worst headache of his life. He and his wife went to the ER and an MRI was done. Shawn was diagnosed with a large cancerous brain tumor.  A major surgery, loads of chemo and radiation, and a positive attitude has allowed him to experience the biggest victory of his young life.

Shawn, who now lives in the Chicago area with his wife, has battled and beaten brain cancer. His drive and enthusiasm for life matches what you will remember of him on the basketball court back in the day.

We’re incredibly excited about this year’s banquet! This is so much more than a golf tournament and we will prove it to you in June.