The 5th Annual Ladies Pink Ribbon 9-Hole Golf Tournament at Marsh Landing Country Club was a big success, taking in more than double the proceeds from last year. In addition to the friendly golfing competition, there was lunch and a spectacular raffle, but the event was about more than simply having a lot of fun.
It will also save lives.
That’s because 100% of the proceeds will go to Pink Ribbon Jax, an all-volunteer nonprofit group that raises funds for patient services, research and free mammograms. The last of these was the focus of the fundraiser, though the event was a significant vehicle for education, as well. Outside the clubhouse, the shaded lanes were lined by many, many pink flags, each dedicated to a breast cancer survivor or a courageous warrior claimed by the disease. The sea of pink flags stood as a stark reminder of the high cost of breast cancer in terms of human life.
According to Marica Pendjer, Pink Ribbon Jax chair, mammography rates plummeted in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“That’s why we’ve focused our efforts on making sure that uninsured and underinsured women and men — men get breast cancer, too — are taken care of in our community,” Pendjer said.
She said she doesn’t want people to have to choose between feeding their family and having a screening.
“We want to keep them alive, and we know that if caught early, breast cancer is 99% treatable,” she said.
The statistics are sobering. One in eight women will get breast cancer in her lifetime. But there’s good news, as well. According to Pendjer, breast cancer survivors comprise the largest group of cancer survivors.
“There are about 4 million breast cancer survivors,” she said, recognizing that this is both encouraging and devastating at the same time.
One of those helping out at the Oct. 2 event was Mike Duckworth, the head golf professional at Marsh Landing. Like many of those at the tournament, the cause was personal.
“This event here is really dear to my heart because my grandmother had breast cancer and survived,” he said. “So, it’s something I was glad to be a part of.”
Duckworth did the scoring and made the announcements. He said this year’s event included some really good prizes. In fact, there was an impressive list of donations made by restaurants, the golf shop, boutiques, businesses and services from all over Northeast Florida. There were complimentary lessons, baskets, wine decanters, gift certificates and prizes of all types.
“Everybody’s been so generous,” said Maggie Kelly, who with Joanne Ghiloni, co-chaired the event for the second consecutive year.
This year, those buying raffle tickets didn’t have to be present to win, which increased the pool of hopefuls. That, and the pronounced excellence of the raffle prizes, probably accounts for the fact that this year’s event generated so much more funding.
“People have been extremely responsive, extremely generous,” said Ghiloni. She said breast cancer claimed her niece, who was just 24 years old.
Kelly, too, had first-hand experience with the disease. She’s a survivor, and has been for five years.
The actual scramble attracted about 40 players, who came from all around the area. The winners were Anne Roy, Vicki Arnold, Mary Tolton and Angela Brubaker.
Anyone who would like to donate to Pink Ribbon Jax can learn more at pinkribbonjax.org.
