Charity Tourney to Benefit American Cancer Society
The Metro East Car Dealer Charity Golf Tournament has already become one of the area's biggest fundraisers, but coordinator Ronnie Robinson promises the 2009 event will be the best yet.
The fourth annual tournament, slated for Sunday, Oct. 4 at Arlington Greens in Granite City, raises funds for the American Cancer Society, which has its Metro East Region office in Maryville.
"For the first time, I have an assistant coordinator, Raymond Marbury, who is a cancer survivor," said Robinson, who is also member of the leadership board for the American Cancer Society. "He came on and is willing to help me out.
"I also have Dr. David Weber, who is donating the first-place prize money in memory of Cheryl Weber, his wife. After helping out for the tournament for Dakota McArthur (a 6-year-old from Collinsville who had surgery for a brain tumor), I'm a little behind on publicizing this tournament, but I know with the support and help I had last year, my golfers will be back."
The list of sponsors for the tournament includes Tri-Star Mercedes, which will offer a 24-month lease on a 2010 Mercedes E Class to the winner of the hole-in-one contest (on hole No. 17).
"We'll also have the Hooters girls coming out and Izzy the Grizzle
(mascot for the Gateway Grizzlies) will also be back," Robinson said.
"Last year we had 32 teams (at Grand Marais) and I had a lot of golfers ask me to change the tournament to Arlington Greens, which is what we did. This year I'd like to have 36 or 37 teams. I've already had a bunch of people calling and asking when the tournament is going to be and we've started sending out e-mails."
For Marbury, who lives in O'Fallon, the tournament offers yet another chance to get involved with a good cause.
"As Ronnie says, I'm a cancer survivor, but we've been crossing paths, either through the American Cancer Society or through golf tournaments, for quite a while now," Marbury said. "I run the golf tournament for the East St. Louis alumni chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. It raises money for scholarships and this year's tournament was in May at the Prairies in Cahokia.
"Ronnie has supported me in that tournament and now it's my time to reciprocate. A survivor has a special passion for what he's trying to do. I had prostate cancer and in December I'll be a 10-year survivor. I'm also a member of the Siteman Cancer Center speakers bureau, so every chance I get, I try to get the word out."
The tournament includes lunch at 11:30 a.m., with a 1 p.m. shotgun start. Dinner and drinks are also included. Those who don't golf can pay $20 for lunch or $20 for dinner. Persons who cannot attend the tournament can still make a donation to the American Cancer Society.
"I gave everyone who played in Dakota's tournament on June 6 a discount for this tournament," Robinson said. "For everyone else, the fee is $55 per golfer through Oct. 3 and then it's $70 the day of the tournament."
Weber, who lives in Swansea, is an independent doctor of optometry at the Walmart Vision Center in O'Fallon.
"Back around Thanksgiving, my wife felt some back pain and they found kidney cancer," Weber said. "After a couple surgeries, she passed away in February.
"We were good friends with Ronnie and she knew about the fundraisers for cancer that he had done before, so I wanted to get involved in her memory. She worked in the office at Collinsville Christian Academy and she was involved with a lot of different things at the school."
"Dr. Weber and his wife were real close with myself and my wife and our kids go to school together at Collinsville Christian Academy," Robinson said. "My daughter has been there about 10 years and Dr. Weber and his wife and their family have been there for 10 or 12 years. I coached both of their kids in sports, so I'm thankful to have a friend come in and try to support me."
Another friend of Robinson, Marty Hubbard, president of M. Hubbard Construction Inc. of Belleville, is among the sponsors.
"Marty not only sponsored Dakota (McArthur) for his tournament, he sponsored me again this year," Robinson said. "Our other sponsors include Mark Peeples, an attorney from Belleville, and Gordon Bush, the St. Clair County tax assessor. KLM Loss Prevention Inc. from East St. Louis has also joined us this year, as has Curtis McCall, who is the Centreville Township supervisor.
"Donel Johnson from Big Fellas Barbecue caters the food at our
tournament. He did the luncheon last year and he'll be doing some of the
luncheon this year and the dinner."
Other committed sponsors are Gateway Autoplex, Memorial Hospital, St. Clair County Chairman Mark Kern, Collinsville Sporting Goods, Used Car Factory of Atlanta and Mitchom Group of Atlanta.
To register for the tournament or for more information, contact Robinson at (618) 447-7253 or WeGolf4Cancer@yahoo.com or contact Marbury at (618) 910-8862 or remx7@aol.com. Any photographer interested in volunteering their time to shoot the tournament should call Robinson.
Sponsorship opportunities for lunch, beverages, dinner and T-shirts are also available. Contact Robinson or Marbury for more information.
"We had 130 golfers and this year we want to increase it to 165,"
Robinson said. "I'm looking for someone who got touched or a person who
wants to play in memory of someone in their family."
Robinson is also involved with "Survivor Night with the Gateway
Grizzlies," where every cancer survivor gets a free ticket to the
Grizzlies' game against the Rockford RiverHawks on Sept. 1.
"We're going to try to pack the place with cancer survivors," Robinson said. "Friends and family can buy tickets for $10, and $4 of that goes to the American Cancer Society. Anyone who wants more information on that can call the American Cancer Society office in Maryville at (618) 288-2320."
