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Gordon Palmbay Golf Classic

jonathanmcmillan12
Jun 15, 2016
2 min read

Competing at an elite level on the sport's biggest stage carries a huge financial burden. The cost of travel, accommodation, equipment, and many other small things add up and can be very overwhelming. The financial stress can put a strain on your training as well as on your relationships. However, I am fortunate enough to have people around me who support and believe in me 100%. This makes the world of difference and I can't even begin to thank them enough.

Over the weekend, a group of my friends held the first ever Gordon Palm Bay Charity Golf Tournament. This year's tournament raised money to help me cover some of the cost associated with competing at an elite level. The day was a huge success and I am super blessed to have such unbelievable people supporting me on this journey.

We started our day with a 9 hole shotgun style tournament. I have to say, my golf game could use a little bit of work. I was in a foursome with Moniek, her sister and one of our friends. None of us are golfers and I am pretty sure we held up all the other teams as we continuously hit one bogey after another. But as bad as we were, we all still had a great time. Following the round, there was an intense putting tournament in which Arjay Moore took the crown.

I was sent on a run around the course. As I ran, my friends took bets on times with the winner taking home 50 percent of the pot. Moniek’s mom and dad guessed the correct time and won the 50/50. I guess all those years of watching me race must have paid off. Following the run we had a good dinner with great people. The last order of business was to auction off a vanity that was very generously donated by CanSave.

The whole day was a huge success. The funds raised have already helped me cover some of the cost associated with this season. With some of the funds I have signed up to compete in the Muskoka 70.3 Half Ironman which is coming up in July.

I am extremely blessed to have such an amazing group of people supporting me. Their help makes this mountain that much easier to climb. And when I am out there on the course in Hawaii, I know that I have a great number of people with me.

A huge thank you to the Gordon Palm Bay hockey team and all the other friends and family who participated in the fundraiser. A huge thank you to Tyler Francis for organizing the tournament, which went off without a hitch. And a big thank you to the Koza family and CanSave for donating the beautiful vanity for auction!