The day started with laughter and ended with quite a few tears as the 13th annual Bryan Mudryk Golf Classic finished for another year.
“There's so much emotion tonight, from heartfelt tears for those that we lost to laughter at the stories that we hear of some of the ways that people have coped,” said Terry Murdryk-Harbarenko, the event organizer and Mudryk's mother. “If anybody's here for the first time, they're going to remember this for always and they'll keep coming back.”
According to Terry and Bryan, the day went really well. It started with a celebrity auction at the Skeleton Lake Golf Course, where golfers bid on the celebrity that they'd be golfing with.
“We golfed pretty good,” said Bryan. “I was lucky to get to golf quite a bit. I had a great time with it. One of my dear friends Scott Studly came out and he bought me (at the auction).”
Bids ranged from $400 to over $1,000 and each team — even those without celebrities — seemed to have a great time golfing and fooling around on the golf course. There was food and drinks for all the participants and prizes awarded throughout the day.
The event ended with a Las Vegas-themed dinner in the Boyle Community Centre. Up to 500 people came out – some who participated in the golf classic, but not all – to enjoy the food, company and to listen to people's stories.
“We had so much great support, so many amazing people on board, the volunteers, the sponsors, the golfers,” said Bryan. “Everyone really comes together and I think the cause hits home. A lot of people resonate with cancer, and it's incredible to give back.”
All told, the event – including the money raised at satellite events like the Sister’s Ruthless Race – raised around $150,000, all of which will be going towards an x-ray imaging machine at the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton.
“I think for a little town in northern Alberta of 1,000 people, to (have raised) probably around now $1.4 million, that's pretty special,” Bryan said.
“I just think it's really special to come home and to give back, and I think it just goes to show you that if one person wants to give back and work hard, you get the support of people and a great cause, that you can accomplish anything.”
