LAURINBURG —The 40th Annual Hospice of Scotland County Golf Tournament once again made an impact on Laurinburg through its annual support and fundraising at the Scotch Meadows Country Club, sponsored by Eaton Golf Pride. The two-day event took place from May 5-6 with the mission of creating and operating a patient-centered, integrated system to provide safe, high-quality, compassionate and sustainable health care, and raised over $180,000—a $14,842 increase from last year.
The event featured 250 golfers in attendance and its anticipated 300-item auction offerings, including golf equipment, vacation experiences, restaurant and retail gift certificates, wine, artwork, apparel, accessories, sports memorabilia and music provided by The Jim Morgan Jazz group.
“Hospice impacts a ton of people,” Committee Chair Bill Hill said. “All the money we raise goes to charity, and with great volunteers and sponsors, we gain more traction every year. For me personally, I had three family members go through Hospice, and I’m very thankful they were here for my family and me.”
“The money we raise goes back to patient care,” Volunteer Coordinator Bunny Hasty said. “We’re a non-profit organization, and we need this money to help take care of families who don’t have insurance, so we really depend on these sponsors and donations.”
In its 40-year history, the tournament has now accumulated more than $5 million for patient care, and this annual event originated from a simple conversation held between three women: Linda McQueen, Helen Evans and Carolyn Williams, an idea that was sparked by the lack of local care for friends and family battling life-threatening illnesses. Co-founder Linda McQueen attended the event and was the highlight of the day.
“This is all about Linda McQueen; she started Hospice with just volunteers,” Hill added.
McQueen, as the executive director, established the foundation for Hospice in May 1985 alongside Dr. David Williams as the medical director. By October of that year, the Hospice of Scotland County had achieved non-profit status. On April 28, 1986, the organization was licensed to provide end-of-life care services, receiving their first patient in June, caring for 10 individuals by the end of the year and setting the foundation for years to come.
“I feel very humble. I was not expecting any of this. It’s been a joy to know that this dream of ours has lasted for 40 years and is still going strong,” McQueen said.
As the event came to an end, sponsors were recognized for their contributions. Each sponsor was placed into different sponsorship tiers, such as platinum, diamond, gold, silver and bronze sponsors, followed by the announcement of the team winners from Tuesday and Wednesday. The winners from Tuesday were John Holder, Mark Konyers, Bennett Gardner and Mike Davis. Winners from Wednesday were Burt Welker, Joel Hartwell, Thomas Welker and Burt Dean.
The night concluded with the giveaway of Lawson’s Gift raffle, donated by the McCabe family in memory of Lawson McCabe, which included a beautiful piece of jewelry and a live auction to wrap up the two-day event.
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