BY SHANNON BURROWS
MINTO EXPRESS

Plenty of area golfers came out swinging Wednesday.
They gathered at Pike Lake Golf Centre for the sixth annual Mary Lynne Forrest Memorial Golf tournament, which raises funds for the Palmerston and District Hospital and the Louise Marshall Hospital in Mount Forest.
The tournament was filled to capacity, with 160 golfers ready to play said George Forrest, husband of the late Minto resident Mary Lynne Forrest, and event co-ordinator.
“I have a waiting list,” he said. “The tournament is always full.”
This year, he hoped to raise $60,000 to purchase a defibrillator for the Palmerston and District Hospital.
In past years, funds raised have paid for renovations in the oncology unit and an echocardiogram machine in the Louise Marshall Hospital and supported the Palmerston and District Hospital dialysis unit. More than $340,000 has been raised since the tournament began.
“The MLF Golf Tournament was created to honour the life of a beautiful mother, wife, sister and friend,” said Forrest in an event release. “(She) would be so proud of the support of the community and surrounding areas have given to help make this golf tournament such a huge success in her memory each year.”
Forrest explained they choose a project to support, with the help of the hospitals, based on what the local health care facility needs and how important it is.
“We like to support both local hospitals,” he said.
Forrest is assisted by his three daughters, Sheree Bell and Brandy Miller of Minto, and Christa Cherrey of Kitchener. Bell’s daughter, Gracie, also helped out by raising more than $2,200 to support the event. The five-year-old then cut her hair and donated the 10 inches to Angel Hair for Kids, an organization that provides wigs for children with cancer. Gracie wants to grow her hair out and then do it all again, said her mother.
The tournament also offered prizes and a silent and live auction. The live auction offered a chance at a autographed Sidney Crosby jersey, and an NHL official sweater bearing hundreds of famous signatures.
Corporate, gold, silver and bronze sponsors, as well as many donations of money and prize and auction items, help make the tournament a success every year, said Forrest.