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Woodridge Charity Golf Tournament Celebrates 30 Years
Woodridge Charity Golf Tournament Volunteers celebrate the 2014 results.
This August 24 more than 200 golfers will tee off at Cottonwood Golf and Country Club for the 30th Woodridge Charity Golf Tournament. Some are great players, others not so good, but one thing is certain: everyone is guaranteed a great time while raising funds for a fantastic grassroots Calgary organization. The tournament started in 1985. “We played at Shawnee Slopes with 72 golfers,” recalls Gerry Wood, president, Wood Automotive Group. “We raised enough money to purchase and donate a HandiBus. It was a great deal of work but it was such a positive experience that it inspired us to grow.” It’s been a tremendous success every year. In 1986 the tournament moved to the Glencoe Golf and Country Club and then in 1993 to Cottonwood. In 29 years the tournament has raised $5 million dollars. For a decade proceeds were dedicated to the Calgary-based Canadian Down Syndrome Society (CDSS). Gerry and his wife, Elaine, were instrumental in founding CDSS which assists individuals with Down syndrome and their families. Tournament donations also went to the Down Syndrome Research Foundation. In the late 1990s, the focus turned to the Woodridge PREP program. Managed by executive director Barb Tien, PREP is dedicated to the inclusion of individuals with Down syndrome in school and community life. PREP, which provides a wide range of programs for children and
youth, is near and dear to the hearts of the Wood family. The tournament also supports the inclusive post-secondary program at Mount Royal University. The tournament has attracted its share of celebrities over the years. “Jim ‘Bearcat’ Murray has been with us every year and former NHLer and colour commentator Doug Barkley is a regular but there have been so many others,” says Elaine. The list includes Lanny McDonald, Jim Peplinski, Perry Berezan, Jamie Macoun, Joel Otto, Colin Patterson and Ken King and Stampeder Dave Dickenson who all still call Calgary home. Los Angeles Kings coach Darryl Sutter also has a close connection to the tournament and to the PREP program. “But it’s our friends, our customers and our partners who really make the tournament so successful,” adds Gerry. It takes the organizing committee five months to plan the tournament and a special thank you goes to the team of 60 dedicated volunteers who run the event. “We are so deeply humbled and forever grateful to all of our friends who have supported the Woodridge Charity Tournament over the past 30 years,” says Elaine. “Without them, we couldn’t have done it,” adds Gerry. For more information about the 2015 Woodridge Charity Golf Tournament and to register online, please visit www. woodridgegolf.com. BiC
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