I remember not knowing quite how to feel the first year Port Elgin Rotary approached my family and asked if they could hold a charity golf tournament to honour the work I had done for the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Canada. Obviously I was absolutely humbled by the kind offer but it was a lot for a 12-year old to process at the time. Mostly, though, I was just excited to have the opportunity to continue raising funds to fight Muscular Dystrophy, driven by the recent loss of a dear friend who had Duchenne, Muscular Dystrophy.
After the second year, I remember driving home from the Saugeen Golf course and my mom warning me not get my hopes up because this tournament, named after me, would likely not continue for much longer. My mom knew better than most that these types of charitable events were huge undertakings and energy–and funds–were quick to wane.
Years later and I’m proud to say my mom was totally wrong.
Last week marked the 19th anniversary of the “Jeff Preston Celebrity Golf Tournament,” organized by Port Elgin Rotary and held at Saugeen Golf Course. To date, we have now raised over $1.2 million to support MD research across Canada, most recently directing funds to Jesse’s Journey. Once again, we had a full slate of golfers (41 teams in total) taking to the course on a beautiful Friday afternoon. It is truly amazing how many golfers have returned every year with most having attended the tournament for more than a decade. Because of their dedication, and the hard work of local Rotarians, we were once again able to donate $25,000 to MD Research and step that much closer to finding a cure.
I just wanted to take a few moments to publicly thank everyone who worked so hard this year to make the tournament a success once again. First and foremost, a huge thank you to Kevin Carter for chairing the organizing committee this year and keeping everything on track. Similarly, I would also like to thank Rob Dunlop for his work recruiting celebrities. Of course, I’d like to thank all of the dedicated Rotarians who work behind the scenes before the event and volunteer on the day of the event–without you, this could not be possible. I would also like to thank all of the celebrities for taking the time out of their busy schedules to join us, especially those who have returned year in, year out. Thank you again to Bruce Power and Unifor, our two title sponsors who have been with us since the beginning, along with the Power Workers Union who show up in force every year. Lastly, I would like to thank the golfers for giving their time and money to this cause that is so dear to me, my family and others within the MD community.
Thank you to everyone and I can’t wait to see you all next year at our 20th anniversary celebration!