Kevin Collins, president and CEO of Easter Seals Ontario, was at Kettle Creek Golf Course in King on Thursday morning, signing in golfers for the annual Friends of We Care Charity Goff Challenge.
But Collins, former president of Friends of We Care, wasn’t the ‘celebrity’ that everyone recognized.
That was tournament manager and CEO of the Golf Challenge, Brent Morning.
A steady stream of golfers stopped by to greet Morning by name, joke about the weather, and share a story or two.
Kirsteen Birkett brought a T-shirt – bearing the inscription Hugs for Homers, a charity that helps kids play baseball – from a nephew who plays for the Houston Astros baseball team. Brent follows the nephew on Facebook, and “he sent the shirt for Brent,” she said.
Morning knew most of the people on the registration list, not only because this is the sixth year for the fundraiser, but because he has been involved in golf tournaments in King Township for decades, committed to raising funds for Easter Seals.
Through a network of contacts, he has persuaded celebrities to lend their presence or support. Once again, Canadian skier Brian Stemmle – competitor at World Cup and Winter Olympics in the 1980s and 90s – was scheduled to be the emcee for the lunch and live and silent auctions, held this year at the main clubhouse at Cardinal Golf Club after 18 holes of golf.
Both Collins and Morning have cerebral palsy and mobility issues, and both truly understand what it means to be an Easter Seals kid from personal experience.
Friends of We Care is a charity established by members of the food-service and hospitality sectors to send Easter Seals kids to summer camp. Every penny raised goes towards ensuring children with physical disabilities can attend camp, where it’s all about ability, independence and inclusion, and just being a kid.
“I think we’re going to raise a lot of money today,” Morning told golfers before they headed out on the links, just as the rain stopped, and the skies lightened. “Have fun,” he said, adding in a reference to his late mother, “and thank you, mom, for clearing up the weather as you do every year.”
The rain rolled back in around the 14th hole, but golfers still had fun and raised funds for charity – an estimated $17,000, as the tally continued.
The event is one of many fundraisers organized by Friends of We Care, coast to coast.
