Getty Owl Foundation

Golf Tournament Success!

From Mark:

It had been raining fairly regularly in the Sacramento area, but the weather was kind enough to let up for a day of golf — not for me to golf, but for those who do. My personal golf experience consists  of trying to avoid knocking holes in the side of fake castles and windmills. I ventured out to the Granite Bay Golf Club to thank other people for golfing, as their contributions and efforts were going to benefit little Getty and help find a cure for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA).

When I arrived, I wandered around a bit, visited with some friends, and wondered if some of the golfers could get a DUI in a golf cart on private property. I then came across a sign posted near the course that said, “Winter Rules.” I figured whoever posted that sign doesn’t have an SMA child because SMA parents know winter does not rule. In fact, winter kind of stinks because of all the nasty bugs going around that kept Kate and Getty home during this event.  Once I got past this point in my head, I came to realize that the sign was more likely a statement about the game of golf than it was a proclamation of seasonal superiority.

I went inside and jotted down some notes of things I wanted to tell the dinner attendees. Tony, one of the chairs of the event, and Takoa, a good friend and event coordinator, came in and we hashed out the order of speaking. I was scheduled to speak at the dinner right after the presentation of a video featuring Getty and describing SMA. If I stayed in the room during that video, there is no way I could have held it together when trying to speak, thanking everyone for their generosity and support. I stayed out of the room until my time came, and I managed to get through my brief notes. Takoa made some wonderful remarks of her own.

Tony spoke beautifully for the cause. At one point, he asked the audience how many people had attended charitable golf tournaments in the past. Many hands went up. He then asked, of those people, how many had any memory of the causes being supported by those events. Only a couple of hands stayed up. I was amazed and a bit crestfallen. My spirits were immediately lifted when Tony drove the point home that if anyone takes only one thing away from this event, remember we are fighting to find a cure for SMA. It felt good because I think the message got through and this event would not lose its purpose due to  inattention or fleeting memory.

During the dinner, I felt so grateful to all those in attendance and all those who bid on auction items. I wrote some text messages back and forth with Kate, who was home watching Getty. I explained the event was going well, and she wrote back with her top concern, “Do you think people will leave the event talking about SMA?” I think they will, and that alone is wonderful.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for making the recent golf tournament a huge success!

We humbly thank the following for creating the event and selecting our little Getty Owl as the beneficiary:

• Marcus Marquez / L Wine Lounge

• Tony Glover / Golf & Lifestyle Magazine

We thank the following for coordinating the event:

• Takoa Stathem

• Stephanie Tomasegovich

• Chevas Rainer

Thank you to the following for hosting the event:

• Granite Bay Golf Club

Special thanks to the following and all the volunteers, staff, sponsors, donors, participants, and all those who supported the event in any way:

• Wells Fargo Foundation / Chevo Ramirez
• Matt Taylor

• Heather Giordano

• Jodi Brown

• Will Brown

• Jessica Holcomb / Sassi Salon

• Kaiser Engineers / Howard Stoll

• Justin Bierenstein / Roseville Mitsubishi Kia

• Brooke Tachibana / Tacos at the Turn

• Danny Burlando / El Pueblo Restaurant (Folsom)

• Sac Press

• Merrill Lynch

• Joaquin Ross

• Labor 4 / Matt Kelly

• Slamson of the Sacramento Kings

• Cary Tinker / Piatti Ristorante & Bar

• Lisa Ling

• Laura Ling

• Hoppy Brewing Company

• Chipotle

• Ruth’s Chris Steak House

• Zolcalo Restaurant

• Morton’s Steakhouse Restaurant

• Red Lotus

• Clubhouse 56

• Angie Bohannan

• The Kitchen Restaurant / Randall Selland

• Stacey Ball

• Andi Johnson
• Shea Smith

There may be some more thank yous to come. We are so very grateful to all of you for everything you have done to not only help Miss Getty but also to relieve some of the burden for others, raise awareness, and …

FIND A CURE FORE SPINAL MUSCULAR ATROPHY!