7th ANNUAL 
NFPA GOLF TOURNAMENT

Held Sunday, 21 September 2008, in Plymouth, MA on behalf of The Brendan Grant Foundation


Plymouth, MA:  Once again we had another excellent day of golf on Sunday afternoon (21/Sept/08) at Southers Marsh Golf Course in Plymouth.  For those of you who missed it, this was the 7th Annual NFPA Golf Tournament held in Plymouth, Massachusetts on behalf of The Brendan Grant Foundation (Note: this was not an NFPA sponsored event).  Our numbers were fewer this year but our spirits still ran as high as ever, and it certainly was a fun day for all. 

We continue to have good weather karma on our side; it doesn’t get any better than what we had.  It was an absolutely perfect autumn day, and it provided a fun and relaxing day of golf for all of our dedicated golfers.   The 18 holes of golf began at 1:00 pm sharp with a shotgun start.  Southers Marsh is a wonderfully designed course, with cranberry bogs woven through the various links (click here for a link to the golf club's website), and it's located on the beautiful south shore of metropolitan Boston not far from Cape Cod Bay.

Six foursomes competed for a range of prizes.  This year's top team was the foursome of Bob and Lynne Winnett, Lisa Light, and Scott Brennan, who came in at a sparkling 8 under par.  Almost as impressive was the second place team playing one short with Bill Burke, Paul Crossman and Rick Sterling, and who had a final score of 5 strokes under par.  The returning championship foursome of Brian Bishop, Bill Gibson, Scott Hanson and Bruce Mullin were unseated this year, surprising everyone by coming in third at 3 under par.  Brian Walsh, Kim Fontes, Dawn Cedrone and Elana McHugh placed a respectable fourth at 2 over.  The team of Nancy Perkins, Nancy Hurley, Lorraine Carli and Cackie Scifres were fifth at 4 strokes over par.  Finally, the caboose at this year's tournament was the foursome of Jennifer Lancione, Micaela Hebert, Shannon Grant and Casey Grant, with a score of plus 11.

Additional contests included the closest to the pin at two separate holes won by the Kim Fontes at 38'-4", and Brian Walsh at 21'-4".  The longest drive was won by Lorraine Carli for the women and Scott Brennan for the men.  The course certainly has its share of challenges, with plenty of golf balls finding their way into the cranberry bogs.  Eventhough the bogs were mostly dry this year, they're still off limits.  The overall team results are as follows:

Team Results 
1) Bob and Lynne Winnett, Lisa Light, and Scott Brennan (8 under par)
2) Bill Burke, Paul Crossman and Rick Sterling (5 under par)
3) Brian Bishop, Bill Gibson, Scott Hanson and Bruce Mullin (3 under par)
4) Brian Walsh, Kim Fontes, Dawn Cedrone and Elana McHugh (2 over par)
5) Nancy Perkins, Nancy Hurley, Lorraine Carli and Cackie Scifres (4 over par)
6) Jennifer Lancione, Micaela Hebert, Shannon Grant and Casey Grant (11 over par)

Closest to Pin: Kim Fontes at 38'-4"
Closest to Pin: Brian Walsh at 21'-4"
Longest Drive, Women, 18th hole: Lorraine Carli
Longest Drive, Men, 18th hole: Scott Brennan

 The weather was great all day, with plenty of sunshine and very comfortable temperatures.  After completing the course, everyone was able to relax and enjoy a barbeque dinner, along with a raffle.  Our heartfelt thanks go to all who participated or helped in some special way behind the scenes. Although Dave Tourigny and his family were not able to join us this year, we tip our hat for all they did helping us get organized, and for all their help in previous years. We also salute Lorraine Carli for stepping in and using her organizing skills to keep us “on-the-fairway”, so to speak.

We had lots of great raffle prizes this year, and our smaller crowd created the unusual situation of attendees seeming to get embarrassed by too many trips to the “raffle-prize-trough”. A special thanks go to all who provided prizes. Most notably Cackie Scifres for the special grand prize of the golf excursion at The Country Club in Brookline (won by Lorraine Carli), the enormous golf bag from Bob and Lynne Winnett that looked like the bag Rodney Dangerfield had in CaddyShack, and a multitude of excellent items from Lorraine Carli and family. Thanks also go to all the others who donated items to the raffle, several of which were anonymous.

This year each attendee received a copy of the New England Golf Guide, and a special thanks go to John Dicocco for his generous donation of this publication, which he co-authors.  In addition, all participants received a new golf shirt as a way of saying thanks for their support.  It was a fun day of golf for all involved, and the proceeds from this successful event go to benefit the various on-going initiatives of The Brendan Grant Foundation.  It’s a great day when we can have a lot of fun with plenty of smiles, and at the same time provide a tribute to those who await us on the other side. Many thanks, and we're looking forward to another round next season!


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