Pine Meadow Golf Classic sets a new record

Jeff Green | Jun 23, 2011

Photo: Brad Douglas and Olivia Douglas presenting a cheque for $2500 to Jane Potyok for Pine Meadow Nursing Home.

The Pine Meadow Classic is more than a golf tournament. It has become a major source of the kinds of extra funds that are needed to bring the kinds of amenities that cannot be covered with government funding and resident fees to the community-owned, long-term care facility in Northbrook.

This year the tournament, which is hosted by Hunter's Creek Golf Course, raised over $15,000, the most ever. Most of the money will be used to purchase high/low beds, which can be raised or lowered, greatly decreasing the possibility of residents injuring themselves by falling or climbing out of bed, and at the same time making the work of the nursing staff safer with less potential for back and upper body injury.

The new beds, which cost between $1,500 and $2,000 each, are mandated but not funded by the government. The money raised will help the gradual transition to these beds for all of the residents at Pine Meadow.

Part of the money raised will be put into the recreation budget to help fund monthly activity trips that a number of the residents enjoy so much. Last month, a trip to Bon Echo Park took place, and there are more planned for later on this summer.

This year saw some changes to the Pine Meadow Classic, which had been run by Pine Meadow board member Len Tufford for many years. Len left the area earlier this year, and was replaced not so much by one person but by a committee of people who had been involved in the tournament for years.

The transition was seamless, as the event went off without a hitch. Corporate sponsorship is key to the golf classic, and the corporations who come through every year are all local businesses. This commitment is epitomized by Yourway Building Centre, who has been the title sponsor of the event for many years and donated $2,500 in 2011.

As for the tournament itself, the winners this year ran away with it, with a score of -10, four shots ahead of three teams who tied for second place. The winning team including Don Fobert, Gregg Wise, and Marilyn and Harold Lambert. Not only did his team win, but Gregg Wise came within a foot of winning the $1,000 hole-in-one prize, (which he would certainly have donated back to the home)

Although Pine Meadow is almost set to begin a large reconstruction project, the Golf Classic remains dedicated to providing funding for special projects for the residents, and is not part of the capital building fundraising campaign, which is also well underway.