The first annual Richard G. Milbourne (RGM) Memorial
Golf Classic was held November 8 at the Renditions Golf
Course in Davidsonville, MD. The tournament was Rick
Easterling's (top photo) idea to honor his grandfather,
Richard Milbourne. Mr. Milbourne, an avid golfer,
died in September 2002 at the age of 91. All three of Mr.
Milbourne’s children - Ruth Easterling (Rick’s mother),
Joan Heinicke and Richard Milbourne - are affected by
Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia, which was passed on by
their mother Anna Harper Milbourne. The tournament was
organized also as a benefit for the Spastic Paraplegia
Foundation.
Rick, along with the rest of the extended Milbourne
family, friends and Annette Lockwood, SPF board
member, coordinated a wonderful event including the
tournament, dinner, silent auction and raffles. The
event raised $17,000 and led to an additional $5,000
donation as well (see Note below).
Tournament Winners
With a score of 57, the winners of the first annual
RGM Golf Classic were
Scott
Taggert, Gary Carpenter, Sr., Scott Carpenter and Bob
Neff, representing Ledo's Pizza of Crofton and State
Farm of Crofton. The President's Cup, a trophy
Mr. Milbourne received in 1961 from winning a
Suburban Trust Company tournament, was modified
to include a base nameplate to list the annual winners
of the RGM Classic. Tom Regnall won the putting green
contest run by Joe Heinicke.
Planning
and organizing a great event
Planning and preparation began in
July. Joe designed the event logo.
Cindy
Compher and her son, Ken, created the promotional
brochure. Joan collected and coordinated all
of the registrations. Committee members solicited
event and hole sponsors as well as items for the
silent auction. Wendy Reed, from Long Island, donated
the Welcome banner used for the golf tournament.
A convertible Volkswagen Beetle
(thanks to efforts of Rick) was offered as the prize
for a hole-in-one at a par 3 hole. At another hole, Lee Heinicke and her mother, Eva Doyle, cheered
golfers hoping for hole-in-one for a Myrtle Beach Trip
prize. Unfortunately, there were no winners
although there was much excitement..
Raffle tickets were sold
throughout the day for two grand prizes and many door
prizes. The first grand prize was half of the
proceeds of $1,330 and
Bob Letiecq walked away with $665. The second
grand prize was a Wheelbarrow of Cheer filled with
bottles of wine and liquor and other party favors.
Rick obtained the wheelbarrow as a donation from Home
Depot.
Silent Auction items were on
display throughout the day for viewing and bidding.
Items included autographed sports memorabilia, golf
gift certificates and vacation packages among other
items. Ruth donated a week of time-share at Myrtle
Beach that brought in $500. A Kincade print brought
in another $600. Another popular item was an Ocean
City Get-away at Joan and Jack Heinicke's beach home,
with a winning bid of $250.
Our thanks to the many sponsors,
golfers and donors for making the first annual RGM
Golf Classic a success. The 2003 RGM Golf Classic,
with 156 golfers, was the largest tournament held at
Renditions with every golf cart in use. Late
registrations had to be turned away.
Please contact
Annette to get involved in the 2004 RGM for SPF
Golf Classic.
Committee Members
Joan Heinicke, Jack Heinicke,
Ruth Easterling, Rick Easterling, Randy Easterling,
John Heinicke, Joe Heinicke, Sandie Heinicke, Lisa
Lewald, Annette Lockwood, Gail Easterling, Wendy
Easterling, Lee Heinicke, Cindy Compher, Kevin Compher,
LuAnn Webb, John Webb, Mary Helen Cobb
Sponsors
Ledo Corporation, Safeway, US
Golf Pass, Exxon Mobil Corporation, SunTrust Bank,
Bedrock Foundations
Special Note - effort leads to additional support!
Mr. Milbourne's children went to
school with the late Jim Henson, creator of the
Muppets. Joan contacted Jim's wife and spoke to
her about the Spastic Paraplegia Foundation and the
golf tournament. Subsequently, a $5,000 contribution
was made from the Jane Henson Foundation to the
SPF, leading to total
efforts of some $22,000 raised by the Milbourne
family. |
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