The Illinois PGA :: Illinois PGA News

Rich Flores wanted to be a touring golf pro, and was — for awhile. He even played in a couple PGA Tour events in the early 1980s.

Flores' calling, though, proved to be in teaching the game. He did that very well as director of instruction at both Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles and Mill Creek in Geneva. Flores grew up in the St. Charles-Batavia-Geneva area, played on the high school team at St. Charles and — after a stint in the military (where he played on the Fort Bragg golf team in North Carolina) and a fling on the mini-tours — he settled into teaching. He was one of the first pros to use the V1 Pro Digital Coaching System, having incorporated that into his lessons 12 years ago.

While he taught players of all ages and abilities, Flores especially enjoyed working with youth, and the high school teams at St. Charles, Geneva and Batavia as well as the women's team at Northern Illinois University have all benefitted from his knowledge of the golf swing.

Unfortunately, Flores got a bad break this year. He was diagnosed with Primary Amyloidosis. It's not considered cancer, but it's similar — and it is very serious. Suggested treatments include chemotherapy, which is also used to treat cancer patients.

Flores has been battling this usual disease for the past few months. That included a 33-day hospital stay and during the healing process his weight dropped from 168 to 138 pounds. Not surprisingly, his treatments were expensive — a fact that was readily apparent to his many friends and family members.

Flores' brother-in-law, Tom Ryan of Batavia, and Richard Ross, a long-time close friend, led the efforts to do something to help. They organized a July 25 golf outing in Flores' honor, and it was unbelievably successful. It was supposed to be held just at Pheasant Run, but the resort couldn't accommodate all who wanted to participate. Mill Creek was pressed into service as well. Over 290 participated in the outings and over 550 attended the dinner afterwards.

"I don't think anybody expected half that number — especially on a Monday night," said Ross.

Ross and Ryan organized the outing and dinner after Ross and his wife, Yvonne, created a website that informed others of Flores' situation. Their efforts led to such an extraordinary turnout.

"It was amazing," said Ross. "Every time we talked to someone, they'd give us a referral. There was no one who didn't know Rich. He's a fighter."

That outpouring of support brought tears to the eyes of Dennis Johnsen, the long-time head pro at Pheasant Run. Now in charge at Pine Meadow Golf Course in Mundelein, Johnsen worked with Flores at Pottawatomie course in St. Charles when he was a youngster. Later Johnsen hired him during his 25-year stint in charge at Pheasant Run.

"Rich ended up wanting to teach, and he specialized with kids," said Johnsen. "Everybody loves the guy. I knew he was doing well and giving lots of lessons."

So, Johnsen was understandably one of the first to learn of Flores' illness and was immediately willing to participate in the outing. He wasn't ready for the outpouring of support for Flores, though.

"What hit me was the amount of people he has impacted," said Johnsen. "It hit me about what an impact a PGA professional can have on a community. It's huge. This is what a PGA professional is. A lot of guys do this (teaching), but many people don't realize it."

The much-larger-than-expected outing raised about $130,000 to help cover Flores' treatment costs, and others outside of golf have pitched in on that end as well. Flores reflected on the success of the outing on his website blog.

"My wife and I still cannot get over the awesome event," he said. "My goal is to play nine holes of golf, carrying my bag, by the end of the summer."

Flores had some good news to report in his latest post. His weight is up to 143 pounds and results from a bone marrow biopsy showed no cancer cells.

"That means it's in remission, and I'm good to go for awhile," he reported.

Flores said he's been hitting some chip shots and is ready to resume his golf lessons, and Ross said Flores has been seen mowing his lawn.

So, while things are looking up, Flores is still battling his medical issues and Ross said his hospital and doctor bills will run close to $1 million. Those who want to keep up with Flores' progress and help out his cause can do so by checking the website, www.FriendsofRichFlores.org.

Author Len Ziehm recently retired after serving more the 40 years as the golf writer for the Chicago Sun-Times. During that span Len covered 27 United States Opens, 17 PGA Championships, four US Women's Opens and 34 Western Opens. For more than 20 years he served as a columnist for Chicagoland Golf and he currently is a member of the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame selection committee. His knowledge of and passion for the game continues in his recently launched website lenziehmongolf.com. His byline will be a regular feature on ipga.com as we continue to provide you throughout the year with the human interest side of our more than 850 Illinois PGA professionals.

Chris Paterson teaches golf about 45 hours per week at the GolfTEC facility in Schaumburg. He's also married with three young children. That has its time commitments as well. What Paterson does with the times that's left is mind-boggling.

Paterson, 40, is training for a triathlon, and it's not just any triathlon. It's the full-blown one – a 2.4-mile swim followed by a 112-mile bicycle ride followed by a full marathon run of 26.1 miles. Paterson is taking on the challenge "because I wanted to prove I could do it."

His moment of truth will come Sept. 11 in Madison, Wis. That's when Paterson competes in Ford Ironman Wisconsin, an event held annually since 2002. It typically draws about 45,000 spectators and is a proven fund-raiser for many worthwhile causes. Paterson's is the fight against prostate cancer.

"I have several students battling prostate cancer," explained Paterson. "Two or three of them are in the middle of their treatments, and my relationship with them at GolfTEC is different than for most club pros. We spend a lot of time together."

Working through Athletes for a Cure, Paterson's goal is to raise $2,500 for prostate cancer research. With a month to go before the event itself, Paterson has already raised over $2,600.

Triathlons are nothing new for Paterson. He's competed in them for seven-eight years at the Olympic distance – a one-mile swim, 40-mile bicycle ride and 10-kilometer run. That's a sprint compared to Ironman Wisconsin.

"I've never done one this long," he said. "It's quite a commitment."

Paterson has one leg up on most budding triathletes. He was a high school swimmer, and the swimming portion of the event is usually the one that discourages most prospective participants. Paterson was a swimmer at Hoffman Estates High School before graduating in 1988. That was one year after his friend, Bob Mitera, graduated from the same school. Now Mitera, who lives in Barrington, is Paterson's triathlon trainer. Mitera is with Troy Jacobson Endurance Training.

"That's the basic trainer for the Ironman," said Paterson. "You have to have someone guide you through it. I get a daily e-mail from him, and occasionally we'll get together for a workout."

The hardest workouts usually come early in the morning. Paterson wakes up at 5 a.m., does whatever Mitera advises him to do, and then reports to GolfTEC at 10 a.m. He'll do a lighter workout in the evening. On Fridays, usually his day off from teaching golf, Paterson takes a harder worker – say a 2 1/2-mile bike ride, a 30-minute swim and weight training. Paterson estimates that he spends 15 hours a week in training.

GolfTEC has nine locations in Illinois, and the work schedule there is more conducive to training than Paterson's previous job pursuits. He worked for GolfTEC in the early 1990s, then left the company for 10 years to work as a club professional and general manager for Kemper Golf Management. After stints at the Chicago Park District courses he was head pro and general manager at Water's Edge in Worth before returning to GolfTEC slightly over a year ago. The fact that he's been working in golf for such a long time is interesting, considering he wasn't on his high school golf team. He just played regularly, mainly with his grandfather, in those years. He went to DePaul University, married Dawn and did some bartending until son Colton was born.

That's when Paterson focused on the golf business. He earned an associate's degree in golf course management at the Golf Academy of America in Orlando, Fla., before entering golf as a full-time profession. Colton's now 13, and the Patersons also have daughters Zoe 9 and Landry 4. They've allowed Paterson to continue in his triathlon pursuits leading into the big event in Madison.

"My original goal was to get through it, but my students and family have been so supportive," he said. "Now my goal is to qualify for Hawaii."

That's where the biggest triathlon of them all – the Ford Ironman World Championship – is held. Sixty-five age group spots in Hawaii will be offered in the Wisconsin Ironman.

If you want to support Paterson's fund-raising efforts for prostate cancer research through Ironman Wisconsin check out his website, www.athletesforacure.org/imw2011/chrisp.

Kirk Lundbeck This might sound a little confusing.

Kirk Lundbeck has made one of his vocations an advocation, and turned an advocation into his present vocation. And through it all he's managed to satisfy his passions for both.

Here's how he did it.

While growing up in Sycamore Lundbeck developed a love for both golf and music. That love continued when he enrolled at Northern Illinois University, where he earned a degree in music while playing on the Huskies' golf team. For five years following his 1981 graduation Lundbeck worked in NIU's music department as large ensemble coordinator, a position that involved him in a variety of projects. During the summers he played golf and won a number of amateur tournaments, but his trombone was never far away.

Then Lundbeck reached his 29th birthday — and that was a time of reckoning.

"I was married, and not making a lot of money," he said. "I thought if I was ever going to get into golf, this was the time. So I jumped ship, and made my advocation my vocation."

Getting into the golf business then wasn't easy, but Lundbeck found a way.

"I sent out 400 resumes and got four calls back," he said. "No one wanted to hire a musician to run a pro shop."

Undaunted, Lundbeck moved to Florida and worked at a 36-hole facility in Fort Myers for nine months while going through the PGA of America's education program. Before earning his full PGA membership — it came in 1992 — Lundbeck landed a job working under head professional Dennis Johnsen at Pheasant Run in St. Charles and his golf career progressed after three years there. Lundbeck is currently in his 15th season as head professional at Sycamore Golf Club, the course at which he learned the game, but his love of music has never been neglected.

Once profiled in the International Trombone Association Journal, Lundbeck says "Music is and always will be my life's blood. I practice religiously and perform as often as a I can."

For 34 years he's been a member of the DeKalb Municipal Band — the oldest community band in the United States. Its conductor, Dee Palmer, is 96 years old and still one of Lundbeck's golf partners. Lundbeck has also played with the Chicago Symphony at Ravinia, Symphony Center in Chicago and on tour throughout the U.S. His wide variety of musical gigs also include stints with orchestras at the community and professional levels, and his own group — the Black Tie Jazz Trio — has performed in all sorts of bookings for nearly 30 years. His favorite musical style, though, is classical.

At face value, golf and music don't have that much in common, but Lundbeck disputes that. "Believe it or not, they're very much related," he said. "They're both based on tempo and timing. I teach golf to a lot of musicians."

Lundbeck and wife Diane have two children, and both share Kirk's vocation-advocation upbringing. Son Jason, a college sophomore, is enrolled in the golf management program at Ferris State in Michigan. Daughter Lauren, a sophomore in high school, is a pianist who also plays tennis.

"I've worked the trombone around my job," said Lundbeck. "Golf takes athletic prowess, and music takes training also. I've always had the drive, determination and diligence to do both."

Mark Labiak, the veteran head golf professional at Ruth Lake Country Club in Hinsdale, never considered himself a distance runner. But he became one – and for a very good reason.

Mark Labiak The family of Ed Flanigan, one of his best friends from high school, was struggling and running the Chicago Marathon was a way that Labiak could help.

Labiak and Flanigan were classmates in Providence High School's class of 1981 and stood up in each other's weddings. Labiak turned to golf as a career, working as head professional at Joliet Country Club for three years before heading to Ruth Lake, where he's about to enter his 15th season. Flanigan settled in Joliet, worked as a carpenter for 20 years and became the father of five children.

Twelve years ago Labiak was playing in a golf tournament in Arizona when he received some bad news. Flanigan had suffered a seizure while raking leaves. That led to a diagnosis of inoperable stage 3 brain cancer. In addition to being a hard-working family man Flanigan was a runner. Prior to his health problems he had run two Chicago Marathons, and cancer didn't stop him from running two more in the nine years he had left in his life. Flanigan had five craniotomies, 45 sessions of radiation, three gamma knife procedures and numerous rounds of chemotherapy.

"He wasn't one to say, `Why me?' but rather `What needs to be done next?'" Flanigan's wife Leslee said. "He was a shining example of how to live with cancer."

"Ed was one of the toughest people I ever knew," said Labiak. "There was no way cancer would get him. It took nine years, and it never did – but the rest of his body shut down from the battle."

Flanigan, who eventually succumbed to pancreatitis, inspired Labiak to take up running. He had tried it a few times, just to lose weight, but never was serious about such an aerobic activity.

"I was a complete novice – other than I might take a caddie in tournaments," joked Labiak, "but I got this goofy idea in 2009 to run and raise money for Ed's wife and kids."

The project was a noble one, but Labiak found it much more easily said than done. He obtained a runner's instruction book written by Hal Higdon, a well-known author and runner with Chicago connections, and drew upon a Ruth Lake member who had been an elite runner for additional support. Still, preparing for a marathon was a huge challenge.

"It's tough being a golf pro in Chicago and training for a marathon," he said. "I'd run an hour to an hour and a half in the dark early in the morning, and I did my 18-miler."

That meant that, in Higdon's program, Labiak was just one more long run away from being prepared to tackle the 26-mile 385-yard distance of that fall's Chicago Marathon.

He still needed to run a 20-miler, but couldn't do it.

"I was doing a five-mile run and couldn't land on my right shin," he said. "It took me 57 minutes to run those five miles, whereas I had been running eight to eight and a half-minute miles."

Labiak knew something was wrong, and went to an orthopedic specialist. An MRI revealed he had his own health issue, a tumor on the back of his tibia. The tumor thankfully turned out to be benign, but Labiak missed two weeks of training and was advised to not run in the 2009 Chicago Marathon.

He didn't, but his idea for a run to help the Flanigans didn't fade away.

"I signed up (for the 2010 Chicago Marathon) and trained a little differently," he said. "I only ran about 10 times all summer, but two weeks before the race I went on a run with my wife (JoAnne). She made two miles, and I kept going for nine. After that I tried one more long run and decided to do it."

Labiak sent out e-mails to about 250 friends seeking pledges for each mile he completed in the big race and received positive responses from about 100. Though ill-prepared training-wise, Labiak joined the approximately 40,000 starters on race day in October with his own personal goals.

"My goals were to finish, finish running and finish with a decent time," he said. "I'd walk through the aid stations and made it about 14 miles when my quads started cramping up. Then it was just get through a mile at a time."

At least the first goal was achieved. Labiak eventually finished the race in 5 hours, 43 minutes 30 seconds and finished in 30,643rd place among the 36,159 finishers. Much more important, his pledges led to an $18,000 gift to the Friends for Flanigans Foundation. In addition to his wife, Flanigan left five children, who range from a senior in high school to a seventh grader.

"When I went to his wife's house the kids were there," said Labiak. "It was really emotional, more emotional than me crossing the finish line. She was in need, and one thing was very important to Ed. He sacrificed everything for his family, so his kids could go to private schools."

The Flanigans were both appreciative and impressed by Labiak's efforts.

"When Mark approached me last year about the marathon and how he was unable to participate due to injuries received during training, I thought that maybe this challenge was too great. Boy, was I wrong!," Leslee Flanigan said in thanking those who made pledges. "I hope that Mark was able to draw some of his strength from Ed and the many challenges he had to overcome."

The memorable first marathon – painful as it was – won't deter Labiak from trying it again.

"I'm going to do one this year for me," he said. "I'm going to train more and try to knock an hour off my time."

Kurt Kollmeyer Golf professionals are involved in fund-raising projects throughout any year, but this one is much different than most.

Kurt Kollmeyer, the North Chicago Area Manager for GolfTec, is at the forefront of the Illinois PGA's Holiday Golf Teach-a-Thon, which will raise money for the IPGA Foundation and several other charities through online marketing at www.golfgives.org.

"We're pretty excited," said Kollmeyer, who has been with GolfTec since 1999 after getting his start in golf in the Indiana club pro ranks. “We thought, with nine facilities and 26 coaches available, it'd be worthwhile to give back to our communities during a time when we could do that.”

Having had recent success with on-line marketing giant, Groupon, Kollmeyer contacted Rob Dauphinais, director of the Illinois PGA Foundation, eager to participate in this innovative concept for fund-raising. This past October, GolfTec offered reduced-rate lessons via Groupon, assuming at least 50 would be booked. That emerged a very conservative number, since an astounding 1,100 were booked in a 24-hour period.

"They were amazed to see it take off," said Dauphinais. "That's the power of Groupon, and we hope to have a similar effect with the social media tools we built into www.golfgives.org. This is a good way to promote golf and get people in the doors during a slow time of the year."

For the Illinois PGA's Holiday Golf Teach-a-Thon, the GolfTec coaches will charge a uniform rate of $100 for a one-hour introductory lesson, with half the money going to one of the company's four preferred charities – Folds of Honor Foundation, the Illinois PGA Foundation, The First Tee of Chicago and Illinois Junior Golf Association.

GolfTec was founded in 1995, with the first facility located in Denver. The next two were built in Chicago, and now GolfTec has 140 bases nation-wide. Its teaching concepts are cutting edge.

"Our lessons are all Internet-based," said Kollmeyer. "We've done things through the Web to promote ourselves, but as a company we've never done anything on this grand a scale before. This (Holiday Teach-a-Thon) will be good exposure for us, and it'll also make golfers aware of us at a time when they should be working on their games."

Improving fundamentals and making swing changes, for instance, will be easier in a winter teaching setting (such as that provided via GolfTec), when scoring isn't a prime consideration. All students have access to the GolfTec website for ongoing reference.

The GolfTec program starts with an evaluation process -- a video swing and motion analysis, then a conference with the participant to find out what his golfing goals are.

"We make a blueprint and give them drills to work on," said Kollmeyer. "It's for anybody -- 5 (years of age) to 85, beginner to expert."

The introductory evaluation is the focal point of GolfTec's involvement with the Holiday Golf-a-Thon, which will run through January. Its instructors aren't the only Illinois PGA members involved in the Holiday Golf Teach-a-thon program. Other Illinois PGA pros have also designated a portion of their lesson fees to other designated charities. Twenty partnering charities are on the list, with 11 of them golf-related. Registration information is available through www.golfgives.org:

	Allendale Association		Ronald McDonald House Charities
	American Cancer Society, IL		Special Olympics Illinois
	Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Metro Chicago		Sunshine Through Golf Foundation
	Evans Scholars Foundation		The First Tee of Aurora & Fox River Valley
	Folds of Honor Foundation		The First Tee of Decatur
	Glenwood School for Boys and Girls		The First Tee of Great River
	Illinois Junior golf Association		The First Tee of Greater Chicago
	Illinois Section PGA Foundation		The First Tee of Greater Rockford
	Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation – Illinois chapter		The First Tee of Joliet
	Kids Golf Foundation of Illinois		The First Tee of Northeastern Illinois
	Maryville Academy		World Sport Chicago
	National Multiple Sclerosis Society – Greater Illinois

The Illinois PGA Foundation will receive 15 percent of the net proceeds from the Holiday Golf Teach-a-Thon. Additionally, D.P. Kelly & Associates and Resource 1 have offered the foundation a challenge grant to match the first $10,000 professionals raise for charity. The top fundraising instructors will be treated to a luxury suite for a 2011 Chicago Blackhawks home game hosted by Humana Illinois.

Pat Kenny is a humble guy, and has been throughout his 41 years working as a club professional in the Illinois Section. His good deeds, many of them outside of golf, haven't gone unnoticed by his peers, however.

"He's the most generous and charitable person I know — almost to a fault," said Bill Erfurth. "He gives his money away. He's kind-hearted, and very conscientious about helping others."

"He comes from humble beginnings and doesn't think of himself first," added Don Wegrzyn. "He's definitely my kind of guy."'

While Erfurth spent a long stint as head pro at Skokie Country Club and Wegrzyn was doing the same at Old Elm, Kenny was toiling in different ways golf-wise. His stints as a head pro included stops at Thorngate, Mission Hills and Crystal Tree, and from 1986-2005 he worked at the Ballybunion driving range — a facility that helped design and build. He still does some teaching at Pine Meadow Golf Course.

Kenny, understandably, has worked within golf on some of his charitable projects. He personally raised $3,000 while playing in a 100-hole golf marathon to benefit the Chicago District Golf Association's Sunshine Through Golf Misericordia program. He also was a leader in the "Hook A Kid on Golf" program for eight years and more recently has assisted North Shore Country Club head professional Tim O'Neil in coaching and teaching young adults with Downs Syndrome.

"Whenever I had a First Tee fundraiser I'd asked guys to give me a day (to work with the participating youngsters)," said Wegrzyn. "Pat wouldn't give me a day, he'd give me four days — and then he'd show up other times as well. He's also been a volunteer rules official for Illinois Junior Golf Association, American Junior Golf Association and Illinois High School Association events.

More extraordinary, though, is Kenny's work outside of golf. A long-time board member of the Long Grove Lions Club, Kenny served as that group's president for four years and has been involved in all sorts of charity work there. Long Grove has one of the most active Lions Clubs around, and one of its annual projects, which Kenny is involved in, calls for organizing parking at the various festivals in the town.

"We'd ask for a contribution of $5," said Kenny. "In 18-20 years we've raised about $600,000."

He also has done similar work through the Long Grove Rotary Club, where he's been a member for 15 years.

Some of Kenny's other projects:
- He has helped raise money for and participated in the Catholic Charities Food Pantry in Waukegan.
- He has raised money for Operation Warm, which led to 30 coats being provided to those in need.
- He has raised funds for Educate the Children, a group that sponsors various youth programs in 10 countries.
- He is involved in fund-raising to improve living conditions in Haiti, with a dinner dedicated to that project coming up on Sept. 8 at Makray Memorial.
- The Lions Club also has a fundraising outing on tap for Oct. 4 at Royal Melbourne, where Kenny and his wife have been members for 10 years.

Perhaps Kenny's favorite project, though, is playing Santa Claus. He's done it for various groups, most notably Operation Head Start when he helped raise $1,500 to buy gifts for 150 children and then dressed up in Santa gear to pass them out. He has also been Santa for the House of Good Shepherd, which supports women and children affected by domestic abuse.

"I don't team much anymore," said Kenny. "It's been a lot of fun for me, doing things like that and raising money for this and that." Kenny is reluctant to talk about his good deeds, but his peers aren't.

"Pat doesn't look for publicity or notoriety," said Wegrzyn. "He's contributed generously — not only to the game of golf but more importantly to mankind. He's unselfish about his time and finances, and uses his incredible skill to attract others to join in support of worthy causes."

Michelle Hupfer, an assistant golf professional at Biltmore Country Club in Barrington, began her fight against prostate cancer when she was barely out of college. Her involvement then was understandable, because her father had just learned that he had this dreaded disease that hits one of six American men — or more than 186,000 — every year.

The cure rate now is over 95 percent, but Bruce Hupfer wasn't so fortunate. He succumbed to the disease after a four-year battle four years ago.

Michelle, though, never gave up the fight and she will renew it on Aug. 23 when she hosts her own fund-raising event at Prairie Isle in Prairie Grove. This fourth annual event is just the latest in a series of golf fundraisers Michelle has organized upon learning of her father's plight.

"When he found out (that he had prostate cancer) in 2002 it had already metastasized into the bone," she said. "He was in Stage 4. He had hormone treatments, chemo and radiation, but he kept working — until he couldn't."

Bruce Hupfer, who started Michelle in golf when she was 8, eventually lost his battle at the age of 59.

Michelle was finishing up her studies at Northern Illinois University when she learned her father had cancer. A member of the NIU golf team, she debated leaving her family home in Crystal Lake after finishing at NIU. She decided to stay after hearing of her father's health issue. Armed with a business degree, Michelle worked as a logistics analyst for a year after college. "Then I realized I missed golf," she said.

She worked in the business office at Whisper Creek in Huntley while completing her PGA certification requirements, then — after her father's passing — she earned her Master's degree in Business Administration. She did it largely for her father, who also earned a Master's at NIU. It really didn't factor into her career plans then.

Michelle learned there was a way to fight prostate cancer through golf via the website Arnie's Army Battles Prostate Cancer. Palmer survived his own battle with the disease and set up a program to create awareness and raise funds to fight it through golf. It took the form of par-3 contests, in which players pay to enter a closest-to-the-pin contest. Prizes are awarded to the winners, but everyone's donation helps in the cancer fight.

Eventually Michelle took a club pro job at Arboretum in Buffalo Grove. She organized a two-day par-3 event there in 2004 that raised about $2,000. That encouraged her to do it again in 2005.

Such events became a regular thing. She did another while working in the winter in Naples, Fla., and then held similar events at Biltmore in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. Her father showed up at one of the events and hit a shot, but eventually his battle with prostate cancer was lost.

Now Michelle's fundraising efforts extend beyond par-3 closest-to-the-pin contests. For the last three years she's held full-fledged fundraisers for the Prostate Cancer Foundation at Prairie Isle, referring to it as the Bruce Alan Hupfer Memorial. Those three events raised over $66,000.

The number of golfing participants increased each year, from 38 to 58 to 70. For her efforts she was named an Unsung Hero by Advocate Good Shepherd and Star 105.5.

She's hoping for a bigger and better event this month. Entry fee is $120 per golfer. Teams will compete in a four-person scramble, and the event also includes breakfast, lunch, live and silent auctions and on-course prizes. If you'd like more information contact Michelle at 2819 Skyline Dr., Crystal Lake 60012 or by phone at 815-761-1277.

Bill Abrams is a man on a mission -- just like his stepdaughter, who is serving in the U.S. Army. Abrams, head professional at Balmoral Woods Country Club in Crete since 1999, has offered his services to Operation to Support Our Troops Illinois.

"It's an organization that's under-appreciated, and one that not many people know about," says Abrams. But that in no way detracts from its significance. Abrams found out about the program from his wife Kathleen, who was naturally drawn to support groups with her daughter, Leigh Ann Walls, being a combat medic.

"A pretty tough kid," Abrams says of Leigh Ann, 24 years old and in her fourth year serving her country. "She was injured in the line duty. She tore her shoulder helping another soldier get out of an armored vehicle in Iraq and had to spend six months in Walter Reed Hospital."

Sergeant Leigh Ann Walls is with the 10th Mountain Division and is now stationed at Fort Drum, N.Y. While she is doing her part militarily, Abrams is being supportive by doing his part on the home front though his efforts with Operation to Support Our Troops Illinois. "It's a service organization that takes monetary donations as well, but maybe more important to them is product donations that get sent to the troops in the form of care packages. It's simple stuff, things they don't have access to in Iraq." For example, at the group’s highest-profile event -- "Rockin' with the Troops," a Gary Sinise concert at Wheaton’s Cantigny Park – collection items including Slim Jims, Beef Jerky, foil packages of tuna and chicken, lens wipes for glasses, foot powder and hand sanitizers. Such seemingly small items can mean so much to soldiers stationed far from home. After learning of the group's existence Abrams checked out one of the group's headquarters in Woodridge. "It was just a little place," he said, "but you walk in and it changes you. You get a warm feeling."

Operation to Support Our Troops Illinois receives product donations at various locations and will also pick them up. It operates with a large corp of volunteers like Abrams, who turned to two nearby hockey rinks for help. His 14-year old son Tommy plays for the Chicago Fury, a Bantam Major team that plays at the Seven Bridges Ice Arena in Woodridge and the Orland Park Ice Arena. "We helped organize successful (product donation) drives with those arenas,’’ said Abrams. “The hockey community is like no other in sports as far as caring goes. We requested the teams to write letters to our military personnel."

Words of encouragement always help, and Abrams' efforts will continue. "I don't serve in any official capacity (of the organization), but I know we’re doing the right thing," he said. ``People come up to me, so many good-hearted folks, who wanted to do something but didn't know how. There are many volunteers of this organization who are unselfishly giving many more hours to the effort than I am. But little things over the years add up."

Abrams' support efforts for the military haven't yet expanded into the golf industry, where he currently serves as president of the Central Illinois Chapter of the IPGA and was recently named the recipient of the Bill Strausbaugh Award for his club relation efforts. But Abrams isn't ruling out something golf-related that would help the Operation to Support Our Troops Illinois cause. "You can never do enough to support those who are fighting for our country," said Abrams. "This organization is always doing something positive."

To learn more about Operation Support Our Troops Illinois visit www.osotil.com.