Virginia Chapter Hosts 29^th Annual Burn Survivors Golf Event

The AFSA Virginia Chapter hosted its 29th Annual Burn Survivors Golf Tournament on October 5, 2022, at the Williamsburg National Golf Club in Williamsburg, Virginia. Once again, the event was a complete success, and the weather finally cooperated with the sun breaking through the clouds and drizzle, giving way to some spirited and competitive golf, while all the participants, volunteers, and charities enjoyed the fellowship and camaraderie this event always brings!

The Burn Survivor Foundation committee was very appreciative to fill the house once again in support of the great charities. The event included 240 golfers, two presenting sponsors, four diamond sponsors, six platinum sponsors, 16 gold sponsors, two silver sponsors, one major sponsor, and five hole sponsors.

At approximately 9:30 a.m., the participants started arriving at the golf course pavilion for registration and to purchase tickets for raffle items to be drawn later. Each participating golfer received a duffle bag with the Burn Survivor Foundation logo, filled with goodie prizes from manufacturers, vendors, and other sponsors.

The morning also served as a good time to catch up with old friends and faces, as there was much conversation to be had. At 11:30 a.m., the golf course staff opened the driving range, and lunch began. O’Tooles Restaurant once again provided the event with some great food, which included grilled hot dogs and Italian sausages for lunch.

Afterward, Burn Survivors Foundation Golf Chair Jack Medovich and the Williamsburg National staff started requesting that the golfers head to their carts and gave the directions and rules for the day’s tournament. At 12:30 p.m. sharp, teams were off to their assigned starting holes to begin play. As usual, Williamsburg National’s facility was in great shape, and the golfers enjoyed some terrific golf on the Jamestown and Yorktown courses. A good amount of rain prior to the event forced a “cart path only” situation, but that did not damper the spirit of the golfers whatsoever. The many volunteers around the courses provided beverages and snacks throughout the round while also collecting a sizable number of tips and donations to be given to the charities.

Golfing ended around 5:30 p.m., then the golfers started making their way back to the pavilion to turn in their team’s scorecards, enjoy a terrific dinner of chicken and beef, and partake in more friendly conversation. Once dinner concluded, and prior to the awards ceremony and prize announcements, Dr. Michael Feldman, director of the Evans-Haynes Burn Center at the VCU Medical Center, gave a warm thank you to all the participants and spoke of his appreciation for the event. The Evans-Haynes Burn Unit is one of the charities that the AFSA Virginia Chapter and the Burn Survivors Foundation have been donating to through the Old Dominion Firefighters Burn Foundation. The Evans-Haynes Burn Center just recently celebrated its 75th anniversary and has helped so many with burn injuries.

The AFSA Virginia Chapter is proud to announce that it raised and donated $80,000 in total to its two charities from this 2022 golf tournament. The Central Virginia Burn Camp for Kids was given $40,000 (received by Tim Wright), and the Old Dominion Firefighters Burn Foundation was given $40,000 (received by Jerry Pruden). The total donations to these two great charities by the Virginia Chapter over 29 years of this event have reached $1,222,400!

After the donation presentations were made, next came the announcement of the prize winners and the golf team accolades from the day’s play. The AFSA Virginia Chapter established the “Giles Cup” award for the grand prize winner in 2015. This cup was established to honor Marty Giles for all his magnificent work and support for the Virginia Chapter’s golf tournament from its beginning. The AFSA Virginia Chapter will keep the Master “Giles Cup” and will put a name plaque on it each year with the grand prize winners listed. Each winning team member will also receive a replica copy of this “cup.” The following teams/participants are this year’s golf tournament winners:

• Grand Champion Winner (Best Overall Team Score): Giles Cup Winner: The Summit/FLSA team of Jack Medovich, Allan Strange, and Skeeter Heath (score of 46)
• Reserve Grand Champion (Second Place Overall Team Score): The Fire-X team of Wayne Pugh, Mike Thompson, Tom Woody, and Rick Silvia (score of 49)

Below are the team winners for each of the two courses for three flights—Fire, Sprinkler, and Life Saved. First Place in the Fire Flight was awarded to:
• Jamestown Course—The Reliable Automatic Sprinkler team of Josh Shapiro, George Mackenzie, Brad Strickland, and Jim Dennis (score of 50)
• Yorktown Course—The Victaulic team of Kyle Davis, Chris Eggleston, Ed Fuller, and Billy Barnes (score of 49)

First Place in the Sprinkler Flight went to:
• Jamestown Course—The Hajoca team of David Bowman, Mike Miller, Chris Stone, and Chris Campbell (score of 59)
• Yorktown Course—The VSC Fire & Security team of Mike Meehan, Tommy Clements, Kevin Bunting, and Chad Edmondson (score of 60)

First Place in the Life Saved Flight went to:
• Jamestown Course—The Viking Supply Net team of Ben Johnson, Manny Ortiz, Andrew Evans, and Sean Simpson (Score of 65)
• Yorktown Course—The Eagle Fire team of Tiffany Clarke, Sean Clarke, Mary Catherine Coyle, and Lance Hall (score of 63)

Other winners of individual skill challenges who were recognized included Closest to the Line:
• Jamestown Course—Lexi Torrice, George Wagner team
• Yorktown Course—Robert Colgin, Old Dominion Fire Company team

These were the winners of Closest to the Pin:
• Jamestown Course—Jeff Lambright, Summit/FLSA team
• Yorktown Course—Grant Chapman, VSC Fire & Security team

The Good Sport Award (Last Place Overall score) went to:
• ACI/Atlantic Constructors team of Rich Gardiner, JT East, Meagan Shadbolt, and Paul Hall (score of 80)

There were four Move up Hole winners for each course, each of whom received a Bushnell speaker/GPS device. The event also included drawings for some major prizes, pre-drawn prizes and door gifts, and raffled items. Fifty-two individual door prizes were given to golfers, drawn from the list of all players and volunteers.

This tournament could not have been successful without all our primary sponsors, for which we are grateful. Presenting sponsors ($25,000) were Harry Hoffon Charitable Fund and George Wagner. Diamond sponsors ($15,000) were Ferguson Fire & Fabrication, Summit/FLSA, VSC Fire & Security, and Mike Meehan. Platinum sponsors ($5,000) were Eagle Fire Inc.; Hajoca; Service Trade; Viking Supply; Reliable Automatic Sprinkler; and Jack Medovich. Gold sponsors ($2,500) were Rosewood Corporation, General Air Products, JCI (Johnson Controls), Etec Fire Protection, Old Dominion Fire Fighters Association, Central Virginia Burn Camp, Checkmark Services, Extinguish Fire Corporation, Old Dominion Fire, Core and Main, Eagle Fire Inc., Potter Electric Signal, Professional Fire Protection, ACI/Atlantic Constructors (x 2), and Magic City Sprinkler. Silver sponsors ($1,000) were Tornatech and JCI (Johnson Controls). Major sponsors ($500) were Hydrotec. Hole sponsors ($200) were Etec Fire Protection, SouthTek, Foley Printing Group, Chesterfield Fire Fighters, and Jason Gill (of Crews & Gregory). Other donations of note were Network for Good ($275), Craig Smith ($300), and Charities Aid Foundation ($300). We want to thank O’Toole’s Restaurant & Pub for donating lunch and dinner to all the golfers and volunteers.

After the awards were announced and prizes were received, Jack Medovich discussed a new “codicil” agreement that he and George Wagner have been implementing as a way of creating an endowment for the Burn Survivors Foundation to continue providing needed donations to these important charities. It is the intent for the AFSA Virginia Chapter/Burn Survivors Foundation Golf Tournament to live on for many years to come, but a means to be capable of providing donations to the charities is the goal in case there are future circumstances where the golf event cannot be held.

The codicil agreement is a method for anyone to donate through their will or estate plans. The agreement can be modified or canceled at any time, and any amount of donation is helpful to the endowment and the Burn Survivors Foundation’s financial preparedness. If you are interested in the BSF codicil agreement or wish to donate, please contact any of the Burn Survivors Foundation Golf Committee members or visit the BSF website at burnsurvivorsfoundation.org for details.

We want to thank the 2022 BSF Golf Chairman’s Committee, who worked the full year, meeting 10 times in planning for this event. The committee members are Chair Jack Medovich, Summit/FLSA; Harry Hoffon, Eagle Fire, Inc; Bill Jones (retired), FirePro, Inc.; Scott Williams, VSC Fire & Security; Jerry Pruden, Old Dominion Firefighters Foundation; Hooper Loscomb, Eagle Fire, Inc.; Tiffany Clarke, Eagle Fire, Inc.; Craig Smith, Ferguson Fire & Fabrication; Griff Brinkley, Old Dominion Fire Company; Bob Beckwith, Cavalier Fire; George Wagner (retired chapter executive director); Jason Gill, Crews and Gregory Sprinkler; and Virginia Chapter Executive Director Steve McGee, ACI.

Mark your Calendars for 2023

The AFSA Virginia Chapter would like to invite everyone to participate in the 2023 AFSA Virginia Chapter/Burn Survivors Foundation Golf Tournament. It will be an exciting 30th-anniversary event with two days of celebration and fun! Tuesday, October 10, will include a wine and beer tasting, dinner, and casino play at the DoubleTree Hotel in Williamsburg. The golf tournament will be held Wednesday, October 11, at the Williamsburg National Golf Club.

For spouses and significant others of golf tournament players, a tour has been arranged for October 11 at the Jamestown Settlement, a recreation of Jamestown as it might have appeared between 1607-1624. Lunch will be followed by free time to stroll Colonial Williamsburg. Bus transportation is included with pickup at the DoubleTree Hotel and drop-off at the golf tournament venue for dinner and the awards ceremony.

More information about next year’s event will be available through emails and the AFSA Virginia Chapter and BSF websites. Please put this on your calendar now to save the date! If you are interested in donating to the Burn Survivors Foundation or would like to learn more about the charities this event serves, please visit burnsurvivorsfoundation.org.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Hooper Loscomb is with Eagle Fire, Inc. and vice president of the AFSA Virginia Chapter and the Burn Survivors Foundation.