MILL HALL - It's not too late to become a player or sponsor in the annual Robert Lynch Memorial Golf Tournament, set for Friday, June 29 at Clinton Country Club.
Organized by the three local Rotary clubs, the annual tournament offers fun, prizes and the chance to help area children at the same time.
The tourney has a four-person scramble format and a 12:30 p.m. shotgun start. There are two flights in the gross division. Registration is at noon. The fee is $80 per player or $320 for a foursome and includes 18 holes, green fees, cart, snacks, beverages, a buffet lunch, and door and raffle prizes.
Prizes will be given for closest to the pin, longest drive and straightest drive. Should a lucky golfer make a hole-in-one on No. 15, he or she will win a car donated by MacIntyre Chevrolet. Jersey Shore State Bank and Nestlerode Contracting have signed on to sponsor an additional $1,000 in prizes this year.
Tournament proceeds will go to Children in Peril (CIP), a non-profit charitable foundation established by Lynch in 2008. The charity assists families of critically ill children in the community who face mounting medical and transportation cost not covered by insurance or other assistance programs.
Any donation to the tournament of $100 or more allows businesses and individuals to sponsor a hole and also helps build up this charitable fund.
The 2011 tourney's sponsors and players raised a total of $1,000 for CIP, and in the past fiscal year, the fund helped baby Annie Eiler and 13-year-old Kasey Johnson.
Annie is 14 months old and is a daughter of Rachel and Tim Eiler of Lock Haven. The little girl has a blood flow problem that affects the brain and requires many surgeries and therapy to correct. A stroke following one surgery was a set-back. Annie's eyesight also has been affected and she is being seen by eye specialists. Yet, her improvement is encouraging and she continues to amaze her medical team.
Thanks to the annual golf tournament and other donations, CIP has been able to help the Eiler family with $750 in gas cards.
The fund also helped Kasey's family with $400 in gas cards, needed because the young teen was being treated for brain cancer at Geisinger Medical Center. The fund also purchased a special table for $102 for Kasey to use while in bed or in her wheelchair.
Lynch, late of Cedar Heights, is fondly remembered as a past district governor in Rotary, conductor and music director of the Lock Haven University-Community Orchestra, director of the Lock Haven Community Chorus, and a beloved administrator at LHU.
His unflagging interest in community service and his belief in Rotary's motto, "Service above self," lead him to develop "Project McKenzie" in 2008 to help little McKenzie Gray of McElhattan who must live with a rare and difficult illness.
Lynch then went on to establish the Children in Peril Program to assist not just the Grays but also other area families of children with critical illnesses.
In addition, each of the three sponsoring Rotary clubs received a portion of the 2011 tournament proceeds to donate to their favorite charities, including Ross Library, the Clinton County SPCA, Clinton County Women's Center, county Children and Youth and other worthy causes.
Registrations for this year's tournament may be picked up at: the Clinton Country Club pro shop, Keller & Munro, 198 Shamrock, Nestlerode Contracting, Clinton County Economic Partnership, Best Western, Lynda's Upscale Resale, Kissinger, Bigatel and Brower Realtors, and from committee members Jeff Packech, Gail Nestlerode, Bonnie Hannis, April Welshans, Nancy Merinar and Jerri Alrich.
For more information, call Jeff Packech at 570-295-3549 or Gail Nestlerode at 570-893-1995.
