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Members take ALS torch from Beach Grove golf pro

Golfers join forces to play 385 holes in annual ALS fundraiser
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Beach Grove Golf Club assistant pro Cory Rudston-Brown (left) is flattered that members like Larry Wobick have kept the ALS fundraiser going.

Members from Beach Grove Golf Club carried the torch in support of ALS with a relay-style golf-a-thon last week.

Following in the footsteps of assistant pro Cory Rudston-Brown, who has participated in the annual golfathon for many years, club members golfed a total of 385 holes from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 24, raising $7,500 and counting.

“I had done it eight years leading up to last year and the way I did it, it had kind of hit a ceiling, so I was going to take a year off, but Larry Wobick and Terry Pickering, two of our members, came to me with an idea to kind of switch it up a bit and keep it going, which was really flattering,” said Rudston-Brown. “It was awesome to see the support.”

Wobick said they received positive reviews from members and hopefully this fundraising concept will continue to grow in future years.

“In the past we had Cory doing it all by himself and that’s a real endurance test and tough for him for three weeks after, so we thought why don’t we get the members involved,” said Wobick. “The more members we could have would also help us spread out our pledge base because when Cory does it he raises funds from the members, but if I’m doing it on behalf of the club and on behalf of ALS, I’m not going to just reach out to members, I’ll reach out to friends, non-members and things like that.”

The members who participated included Pickering (90 holes), Marsha Chapman (61), Wobick/Winston McRae (47), Roberta Wing (39), David Findlay (36), Dave Wright (33), Doug Thomas (27), Mary Adams (26) and Robin Johnston (17) as well as head pro Brent Derrheim (nine).

Three members from the club have passed away from ALS and Rudston-Brown also lost his grandfather to the disease, so the club has been touched in many ways.

“Because the club and Cory, in particular, has championed this cause we just felt it was important to keep this going. I think it is one of the underfunded diseases that requires more research to provide the needed care and hopefully one day the magic potion to find a cure,” said Wobick.

During the summer months, golf professionals have been golfing to support those living with ALS with more than 11,000 holes played by close to 100 golfers.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also referred to as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder that affects the person’s motor neurons that carry messages to the muscles resulting in weakness and wasting in arms, legs, mouth, throat and elsewhere. Typically the person is immobilized within two to five years of the initial diagnosis and there is no known cause or cure yet.

Proceeds from the Golfathon for ALS, the largest annual fundraising event for the ALS Society of B.C., provide crucial support services to ALS patients and their families and caregivers.