Golfing event helps support Boys & Girls Club, community needs
The 6th Annual David H. Walter Memorial Golf Tournament is a four-person scramble with a shotgun start at 1:30 p.m. at Packsaddle Country Club, 104 Club Circle. Registration starts at 12:30 p.m.
“David Walter was a Sertoma member when he lived in Austin and when he moved here he helped start a local club,” Sertoma member Debbie Roper said. “He helped start this club and he also helped get the Boys & Girls Club of the Highland Lakes started.”
When Walter died unexpectedly more than six years ago, the members of the local Sertoma Club decided to hold a golf tournament to remember his generous nature and love of the Boys & Girls Club, officials said.
Roper said the proceeds from the annual event provide funding for many activities sponsored by the Sertoma Club and for the Boys & Girls Club. Sertoma is a nationwide organization; the name stands for Service to Mankind.
One of Roper’s favorite events is coming up in December.
“(The Sertoma Club) purchases gifts for mothers and fathers of the Boys & Girls Club members,” she said. “Last year there were some 271 members, I think, we did this for. We put all the gifts out and then we let the kids, starting with the youngest ones, go through and pick a gift for their mom and their dad. So the kids all get a gift for each of their parents.”
One of the things Roper remembers most about last year’s Christmas event was how a Sertoma member handled a delicate situation. A young girl approached Roper after she had selected a gift for her mother. The girl told Roper that she didn’t have a father, so she wanted to know if she could select another gift from the “mothers’” table for her mom.
Roper asked the girl if she had an uncle or other adult male such as a minister in her life she could pick a gift for.
“She said, ‘no,’” Roper said. “So I took her to one of the Sertoma members who probably could make a decision about the situation.”
At the first inquiry the Sertoma member said the rules were that children had to pick a gift from the mothers’ table and the fathers’ table.
“But then she said, ‘You know what? I bet there are some gifts on the fathers’ table that a mom would like,’” Roper said. “So the girl looked at the gifts on the dad table and saw a candle. She told me she thought her mom would like that so she picked it.”
Instead of blindly following the rules, Roper said the Sertoma member took the time to listen to the girl’s situation and found a caring solution.
“That’s one of the reasons I joined the Sertomas,” she said.
Along with the Christmas party, Roper said the Sertomas host a monthly party for Boys & Girls Club members celebrating a birthday. Every summer, the Sertomas take both the Boys & Girls Club Burnet and Marble Falls units to Rockhopper’s Family Fun Center in Marble Falls for a miniature-golf tournament.
But it’s not just about the Boys & Girls Club of the Highland Lakes, Roper said.
“We help out other organizations in the community,” she said. “And we try to support anybody and everybody who needs some help. That’s what we do and it’s expensive. This tournament helps pay for all those things.”
The registration fee for the tournament is $75. Following the golf, there will be a catfish dinner and a silent auction. For more, call (830) 598-2266 or (830) 613-7253.
daniel@thepicayune.com