Once again, my favorite day of the year, the Annual Fuzzy Buzzy Golf Tournament. This year was extra special because my Uncle Paul, aka Buzzy, has been running this tournament for 30 years! The tournament began in 1986 with a few guys having some fun and playing golf. As the years passed Paul wanted to put some meaning behind the tournament. He decided to make the Fuzzy Buzzy a charity event to raise money for the Friedreich's Ataxia Research Alliance. The first year about 50 players raised $2,400 for FARA. This year, the 13th year, we had 130 golfers and raised $18,000!!
The day started early arriving at the course at 10am to set up for the day. As more and more players arrived I became increasingly overwhelmed with the support from friends and family. Registration, beginning at noon, and the 1:30 shotgun start time flew by and then it was time for "Lunch with Ron." This year we were honored to have Ron Bartek, co-founder and president of FARA join us..several of my FA family members and I had lunch and a Q&A with Mr. Bartek, who, as always, was amazing.
After lunch we headed out to the closest green where everyone gathers to watch the putting contest which runs throughout the day. Despite the weather forecast predicting showers we lucked out and enjoyed a beautiful sunny day.
The golfers started to trickle in around 6pm. These hungry golfers had steak and chicken waiting for them. After dinner were speeches from Ron and fellow Ambassador Program member Alex Fielding. The winning team received their recognition and awards and the raffle winners collected their prizes. The day wrapped up with a final and emotional speech from Buzzy announcing he is stepping down from his 30 year role of hosting the Fuzzy Buzzy and handing it over to his son, Adam. Next year, the Sunday after Labor Day and opening day of the Patriots, we will again be golfing for FARA.
