BY MARY GARRISON MINYARDApril showers bring May flowers … and the chance for those who don’t typically play golf to get their feet wet.
The Marshall County Exceptional Center will host its annual Miller Memorial Golf Tournament Saturday, April 22 at Calvert City Country Club. Exceptional Center individuals will kick off the four-man scramble by teeing off, and shotgun start will take place at 1 p.m. Melonie Chambers, director at the center, said the event provides a good opportunity for those who don’t typically play golf to get out and just have fun for a good cause.
“It’s the best time if you just want to come out and play at playing golf,” Chambers said. “Because you’ve got say one person on your team who knows what they’re doing and plays golf … that hits a ball, all four of you hit the ball, and the one that has the best ball, the other three go to that spot and hit it again. So … if I hit mine out into the woods, I’d get another ball and go up and hit if forward. That’s how I like to play golf.”
Chambers said there are 36 team spaces available, and participants should pre-register for the event. Still, for those who don’t want to take their chances on the green there are plenty of things to enjoy for the day. The center will host a dinner catered by Magic Valley following the tournament at 5 p.m.
“Usually they do barbecue or fish, and they’ve done it for us for a few years, but this year they’re going to do a little something different,” Chambers said. “The board wanted to try something to shake it up a little bit. So, we’re having baked lasagna, and spaghetti and we’re having a salad bar. We’re having dessert and beverages.”
Cost for the dinner is $10, and like all the day’s events, proceeds go to benefit Exceptional Center programs.
The day will cap off with a live/silent auction, which Chambers said will feature just a little bit of everything, including pontoon rentals, a UK Basketball autographed by coach John Calipari, country hams, a hand-stiched quilt and two jackets belonging to the late Marshall County Judge-Executive Mike Miller, which were presented to him by the owner of the Indianapolis 500.
“Those to me are special because those are Mike’s jackets,” she said. “Chyrill (Miller) donated those … one of them is a Brickyard jacket and the other one is an Indy jacket.”
Miller was an avid supporter of the Exceptional Center, having served on the board since the early 1980s.
The event — which will go on rain or shine — serves as one of the largest fundraisers of the year for the center, and Chambers said community support had in previous years been a crucial component to center operations.
“We’re the only agency in the entire state that does not charge you if you’re not on a waiver,” Chambers said. “… If they’re on a waiver system they waivers pay for hours that you bill for the services you provide. Now, some of the individuals are not on the waiver service. They come here and get the same treatment, they get the same learning experience. We do not charge their parents, their guardians. … Every other agency in the state does. That’s why raising money for this agency is so important. We’re founded on the principal to provide a service to anybody who is eligible that needs us. We’re there for them.”
According to the Exceptional Center website (m-c-e-c.org), the center got its start in 1963, when a group of concerned parents gathered to form a nonprofit in hopes of providing an educational experience for their children with special needs when public education policy did not outline services for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Programs include life skills training, job placement assistance and community involvement.
For more information or to register for the golf tournament, call 270-527-1327 or email meloniec@m-c-e-c.org.
