More than 150 golfers braved the rain, wind and cold to come out and support the 12th annual Bryan Mudryk Golf Classic at the Skeleton Lake Golf and Country Club on June 21.
Golfers stood in the rain and reached into their wallets for a chance to golf for the day with one of Mudryk’s celebrity guests who were being auctioned off.
Honoured guests included three members of the 2014 Canadian Olympic gold medal-winning curling team, as well as TSN sportscasters Ryan Rishaug, Kate Beirness and Meg Storms; CTV Edmonton journalists Veronica Jubinville and Brenna Rose; and 100.3 The Bear host Gillian Foote, among others.
While the trio of hole-in-one prizes (a Lexus, $10,000, and a trip) went unclaimed, one lucky winner took home $2,650 after the ball drop sponsored by Wildrose Helicopters.
Mudryk, a two-time cancer survivor, hosts the event with his mother Terry to raise money to put toward different cancer-fighting methods. This year’s cause is a “tumour glue” being developed by Dr. John Lewis in Edmonton, which, when injected into a tumour site, is designed to stop the tumour from spreading and metastasizing in other areas of the body.
The event surpassed its fundraising goal of $1 million last year, and Bryan said they have no plans to stop any time soon.
“How do you stop? We just have such a great support group from friends, families and sponsors that it’s our pleasure to keep doing it,” he said.
Following the golf, the event transitioned to the Boyle Community Centre for the dinner and banquet, which included live and silent auctions, as well as speeches from cancer survivor Brenda Kissel (mother of Juno award-winning country singer Brett Kissel) and Alyse Huynh (recipient of the 2011 Bryan Mudryk Scholarship) that left many in attendance in tears.
Greetings were also given by Boyle Deputy Mayor Bob Clark, Athabasca County Reeve Doris Splane and Athabasca-Sturgeon-Redwater MLA Jeff Johnson.
“The one cool thing about being a cancer survivor is that no matter where you’re from — what part of life, age, demographic — everyone has the same story and you can really relate,” Bryan said.
Beirness explained that hearing the speeches really put into context what the Mudryks are able to accomplish with the fundraiser.
“The first time I came was back in 2011, and you go to the tournament, and you go to all the pre-activities … and then you get to (the banquet), to the actual night, and you hear those stories, and you hear where the money is going to specifically and how it has impacted people in each of their individual ways.
“Bryan is doing such an amazing thing each and every year, so if this is the absolute least I can do, just showing up, then by all means I am glad to help each and every year,” she said.
The Mudryks also awarded four more recipients the Bryan Mudryk scholarship, including Huynh.
The $1,000 scholarships are given to students who are battling cancer while continuing their post-secondary education.
Mudryk said that the scholarship is one of his favorite parts of the event.
“I always sit down, when they can come, with the scholarship kids and their families. I just sit down and we shoot the breeze. It’s so surreal because everyone is so accepting because you’ve been there, you’ve done that and you know exactly what everyone else has been through,” he said.
Also receiving a scholarship was Calvin Tumbles Campbell of Boyle. Campbell was diagnosed with a rare form of stem cell carcinoma in December 2013. He passed away on March 18. His family received the scholarship on his behalf and are using it to start a scholarship in Campbell’s name at Boyle School.
“It’s very emotional for everyone because everyone has been touched by cancer at one point or another,” Terry said.
Terry said it is heartwarming to see how much the event has grown in its 12 years.
“They always say you reap what you sow, so I guess we have must sown a good seed, because 12 years later and we’re working on our second million,” she said.
The exact amount raised at this year’s event was unknown as of press time, but the Mudryks hope it will be in the $200,000 range.
The event also includes companion fundraising programs, including Bryan’s Angels, who have raised over $100,000 in 2014; CTV Williams & Mudryk 100k for the Cross, which raised over $25,000 this year; and the Sisters Ruthless Race, which raised over $14,000 in 2014.
However, the Mudryks said it’s not always about the money.
“There’s a lot about connections, and just helping someone and giving them hope,” Terry said.
Bryan echoed his mother’s thoughts.
“You can put a dollar figure on it, but to me a success is having people come together and raise awareness for the cause and help people that need help. I think we accomplished that tonight.”
