By Bobby Roy
Advocate Staff – News Clip says it all:
The eighth was just great!
Those were the words of event organizer and mother of Bryan Mudryk, Terry Mudryk, at the eighth annual Bryan Mudryk and Friends Golf Classic banquet Saturday night at the Boyle Community Hall, as she spoke to the packed house about how well this year’s cancer fundraising event was.
“It was absolutely overwhelming. The whole night was very emotional, and even with how the economy was this past year, a lot of people stepped up this year,” said Terry.
The day began at the Skeleton Lake Golf and Country Club, where golfers were treated to warm and sunny conditions for the golfing portion of the event.
The night concluded at the Boyle Community Hall with a banquet, where local residents and celebrities were treated to a great dinner, speeches and a whole lot of fun.
The large crowd heard heartfelt speeches from this year’s and last year’s Bryan Mudryk scholarship winners about how their battle with cancer was the scariest time in their lives, and has made them appreciate life more than they did before.
Meghan Maruyama and Ryan McHenry were two of the three recipients of this year’s $1,000 scholarships who were present at this year’s event.
The other recipient, Josh Lamb, was unable to make it to the banquet because he is currently undergoing treatment for his cancer.
The generosity continued well into the night and by the end of the event, organizers learned that they will be able to give out more scholarships next year.
A total of $6,000 was donated for scholarships for next year, which will allow the event to hand out six instead of three for next year’s event.
The audience heard from a number of young cancer survivors, who spoke about their battle against cancer.
“You could see it in their eyes and faces of how excited they were to not only be there and receive the scholarships, but just to be alive,” commented
Although many tears were shed on Saturday night, there were still plenty of smiles and laughs as speakers shared their stories of cancer survival.
Although the final tally wasn’t available at the time of press, organizers said this year’s event could raise around $80,000.
With the eighth tournament over and done with, number nine is up next and like this year’s event, organizers hope to continue raising money to fight cancer.
“It’s great to see so many people step up and donate despite the kind of economy we have seen this past year, and as usual our goal is to raise as much money as possible for next year,” said Bryan.
