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An eternal tee time
March 15, 2004
By Cam Tait
EDMONTON, AB // Word around the Victoria Golf Course was that Fred Dawson was going to buy a new set of golf clubs for the upcoming season. Fred loved the game. By his own admission, wasn't a very good golfer. He found pure enjoyment walking the 18-hole course, just across the road where the North Saskatchewan River flows. If he sank a 12-foot putt for birdie on a hole in the back nine, he'd enjoy that scotch and soda after the round just a little more. On the other hand, if a tee shot went off into the trees, Fred would chuckle about that too during a post-round refreshment.
He carried that philosophy - for the fun of the game - into what would become his pet project. In the early 1990s the Canadian Cancer Society introduced The Longest Day of Golf. Fred's wife, Betty, was a survivor of breast cancer. So Fred, a bomber pilot for the Canadian Air Force in World War II, relied upon his call of duty instinct once more. He assembled four men over lunch - including former Brier champion Kevin Martin - and convinced them to play close to 16 hours of non-stop golf. Get pledges, he urged, and raise funds to battle cancer.
It came to be his most favourite day of the year. Fred was already on the first tee-box before any of the golfers arrived at the golf course at 4:15 a.m. "This is more fun than Christmas morning," was his typical greeting. Then, for the next 300-plus holes, Fred and Betty would do everything they could to make sure the golfers were comfortable.
They ordered food. They made sure the golfers had enough liquids. They coordinated course marshals and cart drivers. He timed each round of 18-holes and encouraged the golfers to keep it going, but in the same breath, told them to pace themselves. Fred and Betty, well into their 70s, stayed at the golf course until dusk when the players teed-off for their last round.
Fred always asked to ride in the golf cart with "the fellas" as he called them during their last round. And then, of course, Fred stayed for the celebrations after the marathon.
The numbers are interesting. In six years of Fred's involvement, $40,000 was raised for the Canadian Cancer Society. The most holes played in a day was a staggering 342, or 19 rounds of golf.
Betty passed away a few years ago from Alzhiemers. Fred kept golfing and working out on a regular basis - in fact, it was during a regular work out last week when Fred, at the age of 83, had and massive heart attack and died.
He won't get those golf clubs he wanted. But somehow - somewhere - Fred just might have an eternal membership on a heavenly golf course.
Do you know of someone who deserves to be in Charity Village's Spotlight? Send us their name, telephone number and details about their community involvement to cam@charityvillage.com.
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