Parkland Spanaway Rotary: September 25th was a day of golf and ribs at The American Lake Veterans Golf Course in Lakewood, Washington. The 10th Annual tournament to benefit the course and our Rotary Club was a huge success even with the strange times we continue to be in. 48 golfers and nearly 20 volunteers came together to compete, have fun and eat great barbeque ribs and fixings. La Marco has perfected his recipe and process to give us the best ribs so far. The weather was perfect, with sun and temperatures in the low 70’s. The course was in very good condition, with us playing the back (Niklaus) nine twice because the front nine has new bentgrass greens, with the sod placed just this past week.
The Veterans Course is on VA property but has received no funding from them since the early 1990s. Volunteers keep the course operational with funding from private donors and modest greens fees. To this date, the course is one of the very few ADA-approved courses in the country. Disable veterans are able to use a para golfer cart or solo rider cart to play, going on greens and in traps. It is truly a sight to see these Patriots able to enjoy the game of golf and fellowship even without the use of their legs. Of course, many other veterans and their families benefit from the game and fellowship, some with very serious PTSD.\
About 12 years ago, a local PGA professional, Ken Still, contacted his buddy Jack Niklaus about how the huge demand was overplaying the nine-hole Veterans course, and they needed to be an 18 hole course. Jack came out and, after touring the grounds, committed to designing the new back nine. Fundraising began to cover the cost of construction. Jack designed the course free of charge. A tree next to the picnic area was cut down with a chainsaw carving of a golden bear and the number 400. This was Jack’s 400th-course design. Parkland Spanaway Rotary committed to raising $50,000 and did so. The 18th hole is now our sponsored hole. We continue holding the golf tournament to help our club and the course.
Another recent fundraiser was a salmon dinner to support Del Livingston in his Water for Africa projects. Del has been going over to help with bio-sand water filters and just overall management and growth of resources with local tribes and villages. The dinner raised over $3000.
October 5th, we are having our annual Holy Guacamole member prospecting luncheon. A Mexican buffet lunch will be served, and guests/potential members will hear reports from a few key leaders of our club. These guests are encouraged to attend additional meetings and consider joining. We usually get a few new members from this event.
And finally, we will have a shredding event at the Paradise Bowling Alley on October 16th from 10 am to 2 pm. Bring your paper to be shredded at the LeMay truck sponsored by Twinstar Credit Union, thank you.
