Tales from semester break: Madison Pressel
Jan. 11, 2010
Hello Longhorns fans, The weather over the holiday break in my hometown of Boca Raton, Fla., has been gorgeous, and I had been enjoying tanning and playing golf in shorts ... until last Sunday, that is. It never fails that when a golf tournament comes around, the temperature will drop about 30 degrees and you’ll have to fight yourself to get out of bed. Despite this cold weather, there was still a great showing at my sister’s annual charity golf tournament that was held last week. The 'Morgan and Friend’s Fight Cancer' charity event kicked off on Monday night with the opening dinner. There was both a silent and live auction, and that alone raised $160,000 for the Sylvester Cancer Institute at the University of Miami and the Boca Raton Community Hospital. The next morning at 8:15 a.m. was when the long day of golf began. Morgan and her four fellow pros, Christina Kim, Cristie Kerr, Bruce Fleisher and Ron Stockton, each played nine holes with four members from our country club. A few people dropped out due to the cold weather, which gave me the opportunity to play in my sister’s morning group. After the morning golf was done, there was a large crowd of people around the driving range waiting for the unveiling of the Kathryn Krickstein Pressel MammoVan, named in memory of my mother. Much of the funding from the last three years of the tournament has gone to this state-of-the-art vehicle. It is 100 percent digital and will ride around to schools, shopping centers, and workplaces in Palm Beach County and give mammograms to women who otherwise may not be able to find the time to get them. This will help in early detection and hopefully a reduction in the number of deaths because of breast cancer. After the unveiling, all of us amateurs sat down in the bleachers and watched the pros give a clinic on short game. (It has been pretty funny to go to the range this week and see the members trying out their new drills). Golf resumed around 1 p.m. with the 18 hole sit-out scramble. I have played with the same group each year; my uncle, Aaron Krickstein, and then two members from the club, Marty and Monty. We had an absolute blast and played pretty well!
During the closing dinner, my sister presented the check to hospital officials. This year’s tournament raised an excess of $405,000! The amazing part about that amount is that this event is a closed tournament, and only members of the country club and sponsors are allowed to play. In three years, Morgan and Friends has raised $1.15 million, and is making an impact on the lives of many people. Hook ‘Em! |
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