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District 70 members in Wichita, Kan., spent a weekend day raising money for the IAM Union’s favorite charity, Guide Dogs of America | Tender Loving Canines (GDA | TLC)
More than $68,000 was raised to support the cause. It costs roughly $60,000 for GDA | TLC to train and raise one guide dog for use by a person in need.
Thirty-three teams took to the links early on a Saturday morning. Rules in force called for four-person teams to play best-ball play with no more than par scored per hole. A great way to keep teams moving on the course, and keep the player’s stories honest.
“To know that what you are doing is helping someone’s life, helping them gain their independence, it is a wonderful feeling for us,” said IAM District 70 Secretary-Treasurer Teressa Peart. “It’s just an amazing thing”.
Dawson Hart is a military veteran of the war in Iraq, an IED explosion left him legally blind. On his road to recovery, he learned of GDA | TLC and was able to be paired with a service dog ten years ago.
His first dog was retired after seven years of total service, but guide dog Bauer has been by Dawson’s side for the past five years. His gratitude for GDA |TLC is why he volunteered to travel from North Carolina to Kansas, assisted by Bauer, to greet and support players in this tournament.
“Making donations is fine, but that’s not meeting somebody, that’s not shaking somebody’s hand and saying thank you for saving my life, because that’s what they do,” said Hart. “That’s what these folks right here are doing.”
“Within the first couple of weeks of registration for the tournament we were sold out, nothing more was left, but we kept getting calls: ‘Hey can you add my team? How can you say no? So the locals and the district worked with Mattie and her staff at Sand Creek Station Golf Course and we made a way,” said IAM Local 774 President Brian Alexander.
“This is a perfect way to celebrate the Guide Dogs of America | Tender Loving Canines 77th birthday,” said IAM Southern Territory General Vice President Craig Martin. “District 70 had a lot of events going on simultaneously that weekend with a major ratification vote for Bombardier members, but they still found time to give back to this important charity. Thank you to all who participated”.
The winning team won with a score of 58, 14 under par. Not bad for a day of golf, but very, very good for a charity that helps those in need of a service dog.
