INNISFAIL – Bob Garrison loves every inch of the sprawling 27-hole course at the Innisfail Golf Club.
For the past 21 years Garrison, a club marshal, has been part of a team that has ensured the course maintains its sterling reputation as one of the very best courses in Alberta, and even beyond.
On July 4, he enthusiastically agreed to show it off as the Rotary Club of Innisfail hosted its 38th annual Rotary Club of Innisfail Charity Golf Classic.
At every hole stop he greeted Rotarians warmly, and each service club member immediately returned him their best wishes.
Everyone, after all, was not only having a great time on the links but it was, as always, for a great cause.
There was a family feeling for all. But there was one special one deeply committed to the annual event.
And that is the O'Dwyer family from Innisfail, with James being the event organizer.
“Both of my younger brothers are playing in the tournament. Dennis is playing with me. Mike is his twin brother, and they're playing behind us,” said James. “My brother Don from Calgary made the trip down as well, and uncle Art, who's my dad's brother, is from Calgary as well.”
With so many family members playing the same tourney is there special competitive fire going on?
“We got a shot,” said James. “But in this tournament, everybody wins.”
And that includes the entire community.
For each of the 38 years of the tournament money, has been raised for a special project for the Innisfail community.
The goal in 2024 was to raise $25,000 for a new project.
“We fundraise the money and it all gets spent locally. That's the beauty of the Rotary club, and why it's so important for local people to come out and support the tournament,” said James. “The community has done so year in and year out.
“I would probably say 80 per cent of the of the sponsors of the event are returning, sponsors that have supported us year over year.”
Rotary’s past fundraising projects have included the new chalet at the Innisfail Ski Club, the new outdoor skating rink behind the Innisfail Twin Arena, and the recently completed Diamond #7 project.
James said his service club is always trying to be a leader in the community by setting an example, which he says has become a “bit of lost art.
“it’s a tough thing in today's day and age. There's a lot of challenges with families having time to donate to this kind of thing,” said James. “We certainly are trying to lead by example to encourage young people to get involved.
“We have some young people in Rotary, and it's wonderful but we certainly welcome more interest,” he added. “There's nothing more gratifying than building community, both as individuals and as a group.”
In the meantime, James was pleased to note there were 130 golfers who signed up this year for the Rotary golf classic to have the privilege of playing a fun Texas scramble round for the cause.
“And we have some fun stuff too. We’ve got mulligans and, believe it or not grenades,” said James, “It’s where you can advance the ball without it counting as a stroke towards the hole by throwing it.
“And everybody's always wanted to throw the ball in golf at times,” he said, adding participating golfers have all kinds of skill levels. “We allow you to do that a certain number of times throughout the round, so it’s a really fun day.”
And when golf was done there was then the traditional banquet for everyone to wind down and celebrate a job well done for the community.
“We've got tons of prizes. We've got cash draws and we've got 50/50 tickets,” said James. “It is a wonderful event.”
