Quick recap...
It was a nice day to play golf. I think the temperature was in the high 80s but it was unusually windy, which made it a lot more comfortable than one might think. At times, the wind was what golfers call a 3 club wind, meaning the wind was so strong, if it was in your face or at your back, you would need to take 3 clubs more or less to hit to a given desired distance.
Now that the golf terminology lesson is over, I want to take time to credit the people that helped make the tournament happen.
OrangeOnions served as the tournament director and was the primary driving force to make it a success. His entire family helped too, from his wife, who welcomed golfers at the registration table, took their money, gave them instructions and a gift bag, to his sister, her daughter and Brian's daughters, who greeted golfers and made everyone feel comfortable, to his son, who ran the putting contest (I finished last). Of course, his mom, Dan's wife Dianne, attended the dinner and said hello to all and enjoyed the stories about the man of the hour. Not sure who brought the great pictures of Dan. I know Brian got a bunch of the prizes donated for the tournament, as did the ever loyal and thoughtful Niko Tamurian, who served as a co-director of the affair. His wife Farah also attended the dinner, and served as a fill-in for Niko as a speaker after the dinner (Niko unexpectedly had to work; the Olympics is messing up his schedule quite a bit). More on Farah later.
We had a good turnout. I believe we had 12 foursomes and one twosome. I would be greatly remiss if I did not mention the people that golfed and the people that came for dinner. They of course are the foundation upon which the event is built. Many have played in the event all three years it has been held. Thanks to all who were a part of this. Lastly, I want to thank
temery, who made a very generous donation, continuing his strong support of this tournament from its inception.
OrangeOnions made a nice speech just before play began. Most teams struggled a bit with the strong winds but a team headed by 'Hollywood' Billy Norton, a former player under
Orangeyes, was dominant and shot -15, featuring an eagle on the 18th hole.
Tickets were sold for a 50-50 raffle, tickets to place in bags to win prizes by blind draw and there were a bunch of prizes up for auction. Many thanks to the generous people who donated prizes. I don't have a complete list but I know it included
cto and the Syracuse Crunch were really generous donating memorabilia as well (thanks Niko).
Dinner was good. The restaurant affiliated with Foxfire, Pasta's on the Green, put together a nice meal for us featuring baked ziti, potatoes, baked chicken, green beans and salad. They also had some nice chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies for dessert. It was tasty.
Also want to give props to Jim Nobles, who owns Foxfire and was a good friend to Dan, for hosting us at his fine course. His staff did a fine job as well. Mike Tanzella ran the outing for us and Chris Rein, the course superintendent, had it in good shape despite tough weather conditions (this has been one of the hottest and driest summers in CNY history).
Chris Gedney spoke after the dinner and made a wonderful speech talking about his relationship with Dan, his personal experience dealing with colitis, and why he is so dedicated to helping to defeat this awful disease.
Then Niko's wife, Farah Jadran took the microphone and made a very heartfelt speech about Dan's relationship with Niko and her, how close they were and what a special person
Orangeyes was, how full he was of life and how warm and upbeat he was with everyone he came into contact with. Some in the audience had to brush away tears...
The best part of these events is talking with fellow SU fans and any event involving
Orangeyes is going to be loaded with them. Had a great time speculating about the coming football season, what the new Dome will end up looking like, how the basketball team will look this season, what the new AD might prioritize early in his career at SU, etc. Most of the people were on the board, either as active posters or lurkers. I can't name them all but thanks to everyone for coming, I enjoyed seeing all of you and look forward to seeing many again at various events in the coming year.
The tournament ended up raising well over $5000 dollars, which I think is pretty incredible for such an intimate affair. Again, thanks to everyone who participated. I hope you will consider coming again next year and I hope others who thought about being a part of this event and decided not to will decide to join in the fun next time.
War Damn Otto! And as Dan would say, 'All you can eat baby'!
