Organizers (from left) Chris Ellis, Janet Buness, Patty Gilbert and (second from the right) Olinda White join with SEARHC representatives Jenayle Meschnark (third from the right) and Jacci Spry (far right) in displaying the homemade quilt with a block pattern of bikini tops created by Mary Friedrichs for the Rally for Cancer Care fundraising auction Aug. 10.
The WMC Foundation and SEARHC are inviting women to enjoy some "fun and frolic" golf for a good cause.
The annual Rally for Cancer Care will be held Saturday, Aug. 10, at the Muskeg Meadows. Registration starts at 9 a.m .; the event begins at 10 a.m.
The day will feature a luncheon, beverages, prizes, a silent auction and a golf tournament with no scoring and no skills required. "It's not even golf," organizer Patty Gilbert, board member of the WMC Foundation said. "It's 'fun and frolic' on the golf course."
Some of the "holes" that attendees will play on the course include the straightest drive, where the object is to hit the ball closest to the line and measure the distance, and one where players will hit the ball with one foot in a bucket.
Attendees are strongly encouraged to dress in outlandish attire, organizers said.
And 42 Petersburg women plan to boat over to participate.
Non-golfers can just come for the lunch, games and socializing. The food has been donated by City Market, Sweet Tides and Wrangell IGA and will be prepared by SEARHC chef Becky Werber. There will be a silent auction featuring donated items, including a Mary Friedrichs handmade quilt with a block pattern of bikini tops.
Although the contest is primarily for women, men are welcome to join in the festivities.
Funds raised during the event will support the foundation, a nonprofit charity that provides grants to cancer patients for air fare and hotel costs not covered by health insurance and who live in communities of less than 5,000 people throughout Southeast. "Mostly it's the southern part, Petersburg down clear to Metlakatla," said WMC Foundation board member Janet Buness.
Buness said the grants can provide as much as $1,200 each year of treatment, adding, "people can reapply year after year, if they need to."
Organizer Chris Ellis said this is the 19th year that the rally has been held at Muskeg Meadows. It started under the auspices of the national breast cancer organization Susan G. Komen. After a few years, control transferred over fully to the WMC Foundation. "By shifting to ... the foundation, all the funds stayed here in town," Ellis said.
Over the years, the golf tournament itself focused less and less on actual competition and more on enjoyment to draw more participants, she said. "With 'fun and frolic,' a non-golfer has as much a chance of winning one of the prizes as a serious golfer because your preconceptions of how you're supposed to hit and what you're supposed to do, don't count."
WMC Foundation board member Olinda White recalled with a laugh how, several years ago, a woman from Petersburg used her artificial leg to make putts on the green.
The event is the organization's only annual fundraiser. Since the first grant in 2008, it has distributed more than $167,000 to about 200 people.
The WMC Foundation was established in 2005 by Patty Gilbert's late husband and Wrangell Medical Center administrator, Brian Gilbert, and the medical center's board of directors. It includes a scholarship fund that generally provides $1,000 a year for four years to Wrangell students who want to continue their education in health careers.
SEARHC representative Jacci Spry said this will be the third year that the health care provider has partnered with the foundation to sponsor two of the holes in the tournament, as well as provide swag bags with golf balls and tees and offer carnival-style games with prizes.
Spry said a tent will be staffed to share information about cancer and early detection, including a nurse case manager from the women's health program WISEWOMAN, with staff available to answer questions about procedures like mammograms.
Spry and her SEARHC colleague Jenayle Meschnark came up with a unique way to promote the event, arranging for JerrieDee Harvey to donate promotional art for a decal. "I told her I wanted a pair of XTRATUF boots, somehow with pink and golf clubs and flowers in them," Spry said, adding that they plan to sell those decals for $5 each at the rally. Some businesses in town will provide a discount or special deal when customers show them the sticker.
For more information about the rally, call Gilbert at 907-305-0777.
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