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This Newsletter sponsored by Portable Golf Solutions
Portable Golf Solutions is a proud sponsor of Caddy For A Cure. Their mission is to provide portable event & sports entertainment value for the needs of Charities, Corporations, Businesses, Associations and other groups. They will creatively utilize their Portable Golf & Sports products and services to satisfy the needs of all of their charity, corporate, and retail clients. They will do this by optimizing a unique service initiative: ON-DEMAND SERVICES featuring an "ANYTIME-ANYWHERE" location strategy enabled by their portable capabilities! CLICK HERE TO GO TO PORTABLE GOLF SOLUTIONS |
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GO TIME with Rickie Fowler at The Heritage
 It was "GO TIME" for one of the brightest stars in all of golf recently at The Heritage in Hilton Head Island. And oh did he shine!
It was a scenario from a Hollywood movie script, it seemed: Loving family wanted to give a grandfather who has devoted his life to golf and charity the gift of a golf lifetime...the chance to caddy for a day for one of the best players in the world, Rickie Fowler. The only issue was, Warren Gittlen is 77 and his body would simply not allow for the rigors of carrying for 18 holes. Birdies for the Brave came to the rescue and Staff Sergeant Jason Roberts arrived to carry the bag for Warren.
 The grandfather turned into a navigator and performed some of most important jobs of caddying....keeping the grass weapons clean, reading Rickie's putts, and being there for encouragement. Again, it was the "stuff" that books and movies are created with. Oh yes, did we mention that SSGT Roberts had been to Afghanistan a few years back and had a rocket tear through his vehicle, causing the ultimate loss of his leg and taking the lives of two of his fellow soldiers?
Seeing Jason carry the bag with one prosthetic leg was truly another truly inspirational experience we have been privileged to witness in golf. Having Warren "on the bag" with his supportive and adoring family outside the ropes in tears of joy watching him made the day over the top for Caddy For A Cure.
If that was not enough, enter stage left Christian and Calen Collins, Fanconi Anemia  patients and our National Spokesperson and National Diplomat. Rickie soon became their favorite golfer on the planet as he not only swept them up and showed attention to them as though they were brothers, he outfitted them in some new Puma flat bill hats straight from the trunk of his car.
Golf truly is filled with some of the most generous, caring, and giving people in the world. The addition of Rickie Fowler to the Caddy For A Cure program is yet another example of an incredible, giving, caring player on the PGA TOUR. His caddy and long time friend, Joe Skovron, went more than out of his way to insure that Warren, Jason, Christian and Calen each had the day of their golf life. And they absolutely did.
 Caddy For A Cure encourages you to take a few minutes to CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL THE PICTURES of a day that many will not ever forget. Thank you to Rickie Fowler, Joe Skovron, Warren Gittlen and family, USMC Jason Roberts, Steve Wilmot of The Heritage, and Angela McSwain, also from The Heritage. Your efforts made everything that is good about golf a reality. Together, Anything is Possible! |
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"Big Easy" time at Arnold Palmer Invitational
 When we learned last fall that Ernie Els would be happy to participate and "caddy for a cure," we knew someone was going to be one happy golf fan at the end of that day. The golf fan ended up being Donn Jennings of Alabama who made the trek to the famous Bay Hill Club in Orlando with his lovely wife, Robin, to experience a legend in the game, up close and personal. Ernie could not have been more "Ernie" with his incredible swing, and his even more wonderful and congenial personality. Donn was in awe the entire day and who could blame him? Carrying the bag in front of thousands of people for a Three Time Major Champion would set any true golfer's heart aflutter, for certain. Shot after shot with that magnificent rhythm and effortless power, it was worth the trip. There are often "perks" that come with being "inside the ropes" and we never know  exactly when they are going to happen. On this day, it just so happened that Ernie played behind Mr. Arnold Palmer and Rascal Flatts, the popular country music group. Watching Arnie from the fairways behind with that swash buckling swing was a memory that few will forget. This was a day that, once again, epitomized the Caddy For A Cure dream and model to a "T": One of the best players in the world, on one of the best courses in the world, surrounded by the best players in the world, allowing the average golf fan to not only watch, but to be a part of it for a day. Donn could not have done a better job caddying with the help of Ernie's caddy and pal Mike Kerr, and Ernie could not have been more fun or accommodating.  If you have ever thought about whether you would like to "caddy for a cure" yourself, CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL THE PICS OF ERNIE ELS. We know that this slide presentation will be the very thing that makes you go to our website, see the charities we support, and pick out who on the PGA or LPGA TOUR you would like to partner with for the day of your golf life.
Once again, we're sure Donn and Robin Jennings are glad they did! |
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Focus on Fanconi
It is with extremely broken hearts that we announce the passing of our dear friend and Fanconi Anemia patient, John Hanna. There are simply no words to adequately describe how crushed we are to lose a man as kind, warm, caring, and loving as John.
John was diagnosed with a cancer in his throat and chin last summer while at Camp Sunshine in Maine. He fought this so hard, so valiantly, so toughly, being so incredibly strong, but it was not enough. We learned that week in Maine last summer that FA patients post marrow transplant are 3000 times more likely to develop a head or neck cancer than are non FA people. This connection to cancer is what we feel is most critical about supporting Fanconi Anemia Research through our efforts in golf, no matter how seemingly small. Our deepest sympathies go out to the Hanna FAmily, as well as to the entire FAmily. We will miss John very much and our long distance hugs and thoughts will be oh so obvious as we travel the country "caddying for a cure." PLEASE CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO FANCONI ANEMIA RESEARCH |
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The "Rocket" with a perfect game in Houston
In a much appreciated twist that truly was a first for us, we had a world class athlete  celebrity "caddy for a cure" at the Shell Houston Open recently. Seven-time Cy Young award winner Roger Clemens actually paid and picked up the bag for PGA TOUR winner Ryan Palmer, speaking volumes about not only the heart of a champion, but the game itself.
It was overwhelming to us to see one of the greatest athletes of all time have the desire to experience how the best in the sport of golf do things, showing us that virtually anyone can profit in knowledge about the game by caddying on TOUR.
If it was possible to have an "even better" ending to this already incredible day deep in the heart of Texas, it was by being able to include wounded warrior Peter Johns, aka "PJ", to join Roger and Ryan for all the fun. Recovering from third degree burns incurred over 65% of his body, PJ had the experience of a lifetime through our small expression of gratitude for his service to our country.
 Showing up at 6 AM in the dark, PJ was greeted by Roger Clemens on the Mike and Mike Show. Roger presented PJ with a signed United States Olympic Team Jersey and a 2001 Game Used World Series ball signed by the Rocket. Not too shabby for a true national hero who served on the USS Nimitz in the Persian Gulf, nearly dying when an explosion ripped him and several other soldiers apart on the nuclear submarine. To say we were honored to spend a day with PJ does not do it justice.
Ryan Palmer and his awesome caddy, James Edmunson, could not have more friendly, personable, and giving to not only a baseball legend, but also to our American hero. Many thanks to Steve Timms and his staff at the Shell Houston Open who once again assisted in a day that was more than a winner for all associated and for golf, in general.
Once again, we were delighted to have a wounded warrior of our great nation "on the bag" through the PGA TOUR "Birdies for the Brave" program. What these people are doing in Ponte Vedra is incredibly admirable. The vision initiated by Phil and Amy Mickelson many years ago is indeed coming to maturity in offering not only these great experiences inside the ropes, but also in raising supportive funds to go to a variety of worthy military charities. Allowing active and retired service men and women AND their families to ALL PGA TOUR events is unheralded in all of sports, and is truly applauded by Caddy For A Cure!
Please, CLICK HERE to view the Birdies for the Brave website. 
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Greetings!
Zig Ziglar has been not only someone we have looked up to for decades for providing the best advice on becoming a success in everything you do, but he is someone we are also honored to call a "friend." I cannot encourage you enough to check out ZIGLAR.COM if you think you may need a "check up from the neck up" or wish to get rid of your "stinking thinking." My favorite Ziglar story is about the two guys down in South Alabama on a hot August  day out looking for some water in a well. They start pumping the pump and pump and pump and pump with no water coming to the top to drink. One encourages the other to not stop, to keep pumping, and even suggests they "prime the pump" with some water to get the sweet H2O to their waiting lips. He reminds us that after a lot of work, all you need to do is keep a little easy pressure on the pump to keep that water flowing once it comes to the top. The success of Caddy For A Cure is depicted in a small way through the stories and pictures above, but it is the result of our nine year struggle or "pumping the pump" to get the word out and to raise charitable funds. But as with the water pump, we cannot just sit back and relax. We still need "water" in the form of financial support. When we hear about another loss like John Hanna, it's instantly evident that we need to keep the pump under pressure and have a long way to go to keep the water flowing; to find a cure for Fanconi anemia; to support our U.S. military troops and to help others in need. So, tell your friends, tell your customers, tell your golf buddies about one of the greatest chances in all of professional golf, to come be "inside" for a day. Come Caddy For A Cure!
Sincerely,
Russ Holden PGA
Caddy for a Cure Founder
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