The sun came out, and so did all of Durango. We have raised money and spent time playing and laughing with friends in the past week.
With four (and building) golf courses in La Plata County, there’s no doubt folks here love trying to get a little dimpled white ball into a hole that’s many yards away. (We also have two mini-golf courses here, which are more my speed, as I’ve almost mastered both the windmill and the loop-to-loop. Almost being the key word here.)
And, even more, those golfers love raising money for good causes while they’re doing it.
On Wednesday and Thursday, the Columbine Classic Duet held its 21st outing. The women play one round at the Glacier Club and a second at Dalton Ranch, hitting that little white ball on two courses with some of the best views. They break a lot of bread and raise money through raffles and silent auctions before finding out who will go home with bragging rights
Before I say anything else, let me start with a “Bravo!” to organizers Diane Curtis, Sandy Elliott and Cathy Gaskell from Dalton Ranch and Marina Siepiela and Donna Flynn from Glacier, who worked for months organizing all the moving parts that make this event such a success. What kind of success, you’re asking? One -hundred golfers and $24,500. That’s the kind of success.
Of course, there are a ton of volunteers, numerous sponsors and all kinds of businesses that donate silent auction items. Dalton, for example, donated the food for the opening cocktail reception, as well as all the personnel involved and some significant gift certificates, and Glacier Club was no piker.
Kudos also go to the golf professionals and groundskeepers who made sure everything golf-related was as smooth as silk.
For the nongolfers among my readers, the flights are organized based on handicaps, and despite the name, handicaps indicate the level of proficiency the golfer has reached.
In the fourth flight, by 0.2 of a point, Lynn Evans, Karen Gotcher, Christine Miles and Carmen McLaughlin will hold the title for the next year. For the third flight, Nancy Barr, Janis Smith, Kristi Gibbs and Carol Woodward were dancing all the way to the pro shop to spend their gift certificate. In the second flight, beating all the rest, were Peggy Brink, Joni Hornbeck, Ann Scarry and Kelle Wilson. They were enjoying their bragging rights all the way home. And in the first flight, the top players, the team of Marina Siepiela, Donna Flynn, Jill Crombie and Becky Van Noord squeaked in by 0.1 points to be the queens of the land.
There are some long-standing traditions at the Columbine. Since the beginning, Nick and Dolly Turner have offered a prize to a woman who makes a hole-in-one on a specific hole. It started at $1,000 and has grown to $10,000. Nick Turner died in April, but he told his wife he wanted her to keep playing golf and keep offering that prize. So she did. I should say offered a prize, because although someone got close this year, the Turners have never gotten to write the check.
The women who organize the event select the recipients of the funds raised each year. This year, the money will be divided between three philanthropic endeavors, starting with the newly created Nick Turner Scholarship for athletes on the women’s golf team. FLC director of athletics Gary Hunter sat at my table at the closing luncheon and said coach Guy Begay had recruited four talented freshmen as he builds the team, which just finished its first season. The scholarship will help him recruit and retain top players.
Begay and a member of his team, Jessica Thulson, were at Hillcrest Municipal Golf Course working at the Navajo Trail Open. Several people wrote their checks directly to the scholarship.
Because golf talent doesn’t start in college, the second recipient was the Durango High School girls’ varsity golf team. Funds will be used for new uniforms and travel expenses. Head coach Kirk Rawles had the perfect excuse for not being there – he was attending the U.S. Open. Assistant coach Kermitt Barrett also was at the Navajo.
The third recipient was Dogster’s Spay and Neuter Program. I enjoyed sitting with Aimee Henneman, the director, to hear more about the program, which offers low-cost neutering programs all over the Four Corners. The group brought its mobile operating clinic so attendees could get a look at high efficiency in a small space. Last year, Dogster’s improved the lives of 1,750 dogs and cats in our area. Thanks to a grant, they’ll be able to offer $25 spay and neuters through the summer, Henneman said. They are offered a few days a month and can be booked at the La Plata County Humane Society.
Dogster, by the way, was a beloved member of the Mark and Karen Zempel family. Dolly Turner and another player at the tournament, Macky Headrick, actually knew the eponymous Dogster at Electra Lake. (He apparently had identified all the soft touches on his route.)
Dogster’s got into the act at the Columbine, setting up a pop-up tent at the 10th hole, where it handed out chocolate truffles in cellophane bags with paw prints on them.
HHH
Believe it or not, we have arrived at the Cancer birthdays, who, by the way, are not all that crabby – Logan Cole, Ed Williams, Charlotte Wright, Aaron Cash, Annette Fusco, R.L. Hawks, John Hess, Courtney Wolf, Wilma Cobb, Linda Buehler, June Hahl, Suzi Gottlieb, Sarah Griffith, Linda Wyrick, Jack Dignum, Dave Freeman, Suzanne Rodman, Linda Moore, Neil Cheesewright, Laura Cartwright, Walter Dear, Derrill Macho, Jessica Shockley, Karen Anesi, Karen Leavitt, Barry Longwell, Louise White, Tom McMillen, Beth Walker, Eric Sparks, Eva McCleery, Bill Ward, Suzanne Cash, Doc Stanton, Cheryl Clay, Dana James, Geni Miller-Parker, Joanne McKnight, Megan Cole, Aaron Unterreiner, Mary Irby, Joe Potter, Daphne Cahill, Jan Nesset, Loris Rank, Russ Turpin, Clark Kepple, Jill Wiegert, Lucy Martinez, Gareth Hammond, Hanora Cunnion, Annie Somrak, Niles Bruno, Chelsea Bowen, Stephen Bowles, Donna Suggs, Ava Rose McClellan and Pat Demarest.
HHH
The Durango Chamber of Commerce’s Girls Gone Golfing helped make sure the athletes in the new Fort Lewis College women’s golf team get some community support. (And no, it’s not gone wild, although they did have quite a bit of fun.)
Two members of the team, Jessica Thulson and Myranda Crawford, were on hand to add to the aforementioned fun. They were strategically stationed at Hillcrest Municipal Golf Course’s par 3 holes 9 and 12, where, for a donation, they would play with the team passing through in a scramble format.
Those donations, along with some other games along the way, helped the event raise more than $1,000 for the team.
“The Girls Gone Golfing event, now in its ninth year, is all about getting women on the golf course to do business and network, similar to their male counterparts,” said Rita Simon, chamber manager and event founder. “It seemed like the perfect fit to ask the GGG women attendees to help these female student-athletes become successful as the first- ever FLC women’s golf team.”
’Tis the season for golf tournaments. I mentioned to Diane Curtis, who’s active with the Columbine Duet Golf Classic, that I have always wondered just how many charity golf tournaments there are here every year. She made some calls and reported back that Glacier Club co-sponsors eight, Dalton Ranch Golf Club hosts seven, and Hillcrest is the home to five.
That didn’t seem like it could be enough, but if you notice it adds up to 20, that’s probably more than one per week in high golf season.
Now if someone could give me a count for all the 5K fundraisers in town, I’ll be a happy camper.
HHH
For more than a century, the granges in the county were where all the community activities were held, where neighbors got to know each other and people found out who needed a helping hand – and they gave one.
Many granges have closed in recent years, and others are reinventing themselves for the 21st century. That’s definitely the case for the Animas Grange, 7271 County Road 203. In past years, members hosted two big dinners a year, which were highly successful, but highly labor intensive.
So this year, the grange is shifting to a big community picnic. It will be held at 4 p.m. Saturday. All Animas Valley residents and friends are invited.
Pulled pork, rolls and beverages will be provided. Attendees should bring their own table service. Those whose last names begin with A to L should bring appetizers and those whose last names begin with M to Z are asked to bring desserts.
For more information, call Master of the Grange Ruth Shock at 247-8214.
This is still a small town, but so many of us don’t know our neighbors because of the high-paced work, work, work lives we have. This is a chance to remember why you enjoy living here and settle in for a visit.
HHH
The last of the former June brides are celebrating their anniversaries this week – Roger and Marilyn Folk, Ed and Karen Trahan, Bob and Nancy Dolphin, Wesley and Pat May, Derrill and Nancy Macho, Mark and Merrilee Fleming, Larry and Beverly Brown, Cory and Gretchen Foster, Robert and Jayne Griffith, Phil and Stephanie Huss, John and Chris Serwe, Ernie and Mary Anne Gregg, Walter and Julia Jackson, Steve and Tamra Lavengood, Don and Lori Hammond, John and Shanna Stordahl, John and Louise Grayson and Jeff and Donn Wince.
HHH
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