CLIFFORD – What started out as two teenagers falling in love, has turned into a 20-year-long golf tournament that has raised over $1 million for local hospitals in need.
George Forrest met his wife Mary Lynne when they were “just kids” on the same golf course that has held the Mary Lynne Forrest Memorial Golf Tournament for the past two decades.
“The first time I saw her was on our golf course (Pike Lake Golf Course), she was 15 or 16 and I was 17,” George told the Advertiser.
At that time he was working for Pike Lake when it was originally a nine-hole course.
“Her cousin (Terry) brought her out golfing and I was kind of checking her out,” he explained.
“I said to Terry ‘who’s the chick,’ and you know that’s how it started.”
George explained the course has been a “family affair” as Mary Lynne and himself worked in the business, followed by their three daughters and now their grandchildren.
Mary Lynne passed away in November of 2002 from an “inoperable brain tumour” that was in a location the doctors couldn’t get to without “damaging everything,” George stated.
“We knew the outcome, the doctors gave her four months and she lasted over a year; that was a special time.”
After Mary Lynne died, her daughters, husband and friends came up with the idea of a golf tournament to honour her.
The first year George picked Louise Marshall Hospital (LMH) in Mount Forest as the beneficiary of the tournament. The goal was to help the hospital fund an oncology unit.
When the day ended, the family and community had raised $78,000, surpassing the $76,000 needed.
Community members asked Forrest what he would do for the next tournament, but he had thought it would take “four or five years” to raise the total from the first tournament, so he wasn’t sure.
Year two came and he decided to support the Palmerston and District Hospital’s (PDH) dialysis clinic.
After that he decided on switching between the two hospitals each year.
Over time the tournament had raised money for equipment like defibrillators, a portable ventilator, dialysis chairs, echocardiogram machines and the ongoing Palmerston MRI campaign.
George decided to support both hospitals this year for the tournament’s 20th anniversary and in recognition of hitting the $1-million milestone.
Coincidentally, both facilities needed new hematology analyzers for their lab departments. The analyzers have been in use since 2012 and are no longer supported, PDH officials state.
The equipment analyzes blood samples, providing fast and accurate results for various blood parameters such as cell counts, hemoglobin levels and platelet counts.
“This tournament, it’s a very emotional day because so many people knew her and loved her,” George said choking back tears.
“Even 22 years later, what we’re doing is good.”
Emotions filled the air on July 17 as memories of Mary Lynne were shared through broken voices. Smiles, tears and laughter are all components of the annual tournament.
“Look at all the rain we’ve had and every year we have this tournament, it’s like this,” he added referring to the warm, cloudless day versus storms across the county the previous day.
The event is held every year at Pike Lake on the third Wednesday in July.
A majority of the players, about 75 per cent, have played all 20 years, George told the Advertiser.
For professional golfer David Hearn, this was his first year being able to participate.
“This is where I grew up playing golf, this is where I learned to play and where I fell in love with the game,” Hearn said.
The golfer had always found a way to support the Forrest family while being away on the PGA Tour.
He would donate tournament flags from his travels signed by other professional players, auction himself off for a group to play a round with him or donate golf equipment.
“She raised a great family and she was just a great person, you could always feel that when you were around her,” Hearn said of Mary Lynne.
George expressed his appreciation towards Hearn stating, “It’s very special to me having him here.”
The day included lunch, dinner, speeches, live auctions filled with donated gifts and a branded garment to remember the day.
Professional golfer David Hearn, left, attended the Mary Lynne Forrest Memorial Golf Tournament with George Forrest, sharing his support on an emotional day. Photo by Georgia York
PDH development officer Dale Franklin shared her gratitude for the many years of support from the tournament.
“Mary Lynne would be so proud of all the good that has been done in the community in her name,” Franklin said.
“This tournament has kept her memory alive far beyond the family and has had an amazingly positive effect on health care in north Wellington.”
Many fundraisers are successful for a time but for this tournament to continue its “amazing success story” for 20 years is a bit if an “anomaly”, added Franklin.
LMH Foundation executive director Amy Van Huss stated, “George and his family have given so much back to the community over the past 20 years.
“Mary Lynne’s legacy lives on in everything her family has been able to accomplish… we are so grateful to the Forrest family.”
The tournament ended the day raising over $60,000 for the two hospitals.
One of the Forrest daughters, Brandy Miller, recalled her mother’s “smile and infectious laughter.”
“It’s bittersweet because she should be here with us,” Miller said.
She looked towards the sky stating, “We’re super proud that we can do this in her memory because I know she’s up there proud as ever (of) us.”
