By Michael S. Hoey
Correspondent
The 17th annual McGMO charity golf event took place Friday at Delbrook Golf Course in Delavan and raised more than $52,000 toward the Vince Lombardi Cancer Clinic at Aurora Lakeland Medical Center in Elkhorn.
Co-founder Mike Grover said the event might set another record for money raised when all the counting is done and a matching grant from the Vince Lombardi Cancer Foundation is approved in January.
The McGMO was established in 1998 by Grover, Tim McGregor, John Monroe and Kim O’Keefe in memory of their fathers Dean McGregor, Ivan Grover and Calvin Monroe, all of whom lost their battles with cancer, and O’Keefe, a cancer survivor.
Four others who either participated in the event or volunteered for it in the past lost their battles with cancer this year and were honored at the event – David Asplund, Richard MacGregor, Barb Scmaling and Bobbi Panknin.
The four founders of the event had been friends since attending high school together in Delavan, and they decided to raise money to help others fight cancer. Grover came up with the idea of a golf outing and said there was never any doubt where the money raised would go—the Vince Lombardi Cancer Clinic.
“It’s our local hospital,” Grover said.
The only stipulation the group placed on the donated funds was that they go toward comfort items for patients. The event raised $9,000 in its first year and has raised more than $750,000 in all, coming into this year.
“The goal each year is to raise the bar and increase the proceeds of the outing so that even more cancer patients will benefit from the generosity of those who attend,” the McGMO founders said in a joint statement in the event program. “It’s important for people to be able to stay close to home.”
The purpose of the McGMO is to help improve the lives of local cancer patients, Grover said.
“The weather cooperated and we had a lot of new golfers this year,” Grover said. “It had a different flavor to it.”
Last year the event had to overcome inclement weather for the first time in its history. Despite being forced to cut the golf portion of the event short by four holes, last year’s tournament was very successful.
Grover said 183 golfers participated in the Stableford points system event, about the same number as last year, but 240 enjoyed the dinner that accompanied the auction. That was a record number.
Also helping to keep the event fresh was the addition of some new games and challenges. Culver’s offered the opportunity to tee off on one hole using one of their cones as a tee. A prize went to the longest drive.
Another new event was the opportunity on all the par-five holes to roll some giant dice and move up to the ladies’ tee, the 375-yard marker, or even the 75-yard marker to hit a drive depending on the roll of the die.
“It was fun to see that the event is still fresh after 17 years,” Grover said.
Other more established events included the bag of money. People could donate money to be placed inside a backpack that was later auctioned off as a mystery prize. This year, the backpack ended up having $800 in it. There was also a raffle that included three $1,000 prizes.
“The auction went fantastic,” Grover said. He said some of the most popular items bid on were a trip to Hawaii, a California vacation, a Doyle Grisham Coral Reefer Band autographed steel guitar and a one-month rental of a Harley motorcycle.
“We also receive a lot of support from Aurora each year,” Grover said. “It is nice to see that support from them.”
Several Aurora staff members volunteer their time in the days and weeks leading up to the event and at the event itself.
Grover also received the special honor of awarding his mother, Delores, the Angel of Hope Award, recognizing her for all of her contributions to the event.
“It was a great honor to be able to do that,” Grover said. “It was quite an honor for her.”
Grover said his mother has often made goodie baskets for the event that included pies or preserves. He said it was the first time she has been publically thanked for all she has done for her church and community.
“I would not be the person I am today if not for her,” he said.
Champions of the Men’s Division with 67 points were Grover, Mike Hight, Kevin Coghlan and Craig Lodahl. John Clair, Bob Quartucci, Joe Peyer and Steve Logterman took second with 62 points.
Champions of the Women’s Division with 33 points were Denise Connelly, Katy Lamantia, Kathy Schrock and Suzie Augustine. Sue Hughes, Linda Struhar, Bette Hanel and Laurie Zulkowski finished second with 26 points.
Champions of the Mixed Division were Chris Kaczmarek, Jessica Ellis, Peter Smith and Aaron Schafer with 40 points. Liz, Glenn, Curtis, and Molly Boss took came in second with 38 points.
