It’s finally here! For the 21styear in a row! It’s TrueNorth GCRO Week!
After practice rounds on Monday, the annual TrueNorth Greater Cedar Rapids Open, presented by UFG Insurance, will officially kick off Tuesday, July 23 with the first of our two pro/ams and some FREE AND FUN kids activities at Hunters Ridge Golf Course in Marion.
The first Dave Wright Nissan Subaru Pro/Am tees off at 8 a.m. While that is going on, several competing pros and the Hunters Ridge staff will be the instructors at the Culver’s Junior Golf Clinic at 10 a.m. This is free to all kids. Get some great pointers and help from some kid-friendly pros and staff! There will probably be some giveaways too!
Then stick around for more fun at the third annual Coca-Cola Mascots Putting Challenge at 11 a.m. Mascots who are scheduled to appear include Mr. Shucks from the Cedar Rapids Kernels, defending Challenge champ Ricochet from the Cedar Rapids Roughriders, Scoopie from Culver’s Restaurants and of course, the host, the Coca-Cola Polar Bear. They will be competing in a putting battle royal with help from the children in attendance. It’s a great time for all involved.
The second Dave Wright Nissan Subaru Pro/Am tees off at 1:30 p.m. featuring four foursomes of golfers from the G.I.V.E. Foundation (Golf for Injured Veterans Everywhere). Two foursomes will go off the no. 10 tee, one off No.11 and one off No. 12. The veterans’ foursomes are graciously sponsored by RIM Enterprises, UFG Insurance, General Mills and St. John & Gielau CPA.
The four foursomes from the G.I.V.E. program include the following veterans:
- Jeff Brown(1986-88 – Production Control Specialist); Rick Frame(1967-69, Vietnam and Korea, Purple Heart recipient); Buck Pickerill(1949-53, U.S. Navy Flag Admin Unit); Dan Sergeant(1973-93, Retired Army Aircraft Armament, service connected disability); Larry Meyer(1964, U.S. Army with the 2ndArmored Cavalry Regiment securing the East & West German border. In S-2 Intelligence Section, riding with Jim Dickerson); professional golfer and Sergeant Major Jim Dickerson(PGA, University of Iowa/Finkbine GC, 2014 PGA National Patriot Award for G.I.V.E.
- John Cloyde(U.S. Army, Infantry Platoon Scout Dog, attached to 198thBrigade American Division Duc Pho RVN Vietnam, highly decorated veteran and American hero, service connected disability); Derrick Pickering(1968-69 radio operator); Eric Ringena(1969-72, U.S. Air Force auto flight control specialist, Vietnam Service Medal, service connected disability); Dave Johnson(1965-69, U.S. Air Force communications specialist. Vietnam Service Medal, service connected disability).
- Ron “The Chief” Williams(1962-69, U.S. Army, 1973-1993 U.S. Navy, Vietnam Service Medal, tank driver on the Berlin Wall, Intruder Air Squadron. USS Kitty Hawk, USS Cochran, Navy recruiter, retired U.S. Navy, service connected disability); Rick Martin(1965-82, retired Master Chief E-9, served on 5 different warships including the USS Arkansas. Directed Naval fire off Vietnam in support of U.S. forces and their allies); Curt Goodrow(1969-70, 101stAirborne Division … in jungles of Vietnam. Light weapons infantry, “tunnel rat”); Terry Ackerman(1967-71, U.S. Navy, USS Constellation. Two cruises to Vietnam.)
- Ricky Davis(1972-75, U.S. Air Force. Radio Communications Intercept Analyst for NSA in Japan and Taiwan, service connected disability); Jeremy Soppe(1998-2008, U.S. Army National Guard, deployed to Iraq . Deployed to in Operation Iraqi Freedom, service connected disability); Steve Marner(1972-78, U.S. Air Force, Satellite Communications Technician, served at Andrews Air Force Base and tours in Turkey and Vietnam, Vietnam Service Medal, service connected disability); Russ Irvine (Retired U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer, sniper in Vietnam with 9thInfantry Division, last 23 years as a US-1 Huey and CH-47 Chinook pilot, service connected disability).
Come out and salute these heroes on the 10th, 11thor 12thtees at 1:30 p.m. or anywhere on the course during their round!
After all the festivities of the day, pro/am participants are invited to sit back and discuss their rounds at the IBev (Iowa Beverage) Cool-Off Reception. This ticketed event will be held at approximately 6:30 p.m. at the Hunters Ridge Lodge and will feature beer, wine and soda as well as appetizers provided by Granite City Food & Brewery. It will be a great time to sit back and relive some of the shots of the day!
On Wednesday, the third Dave Wright Nissan Subaru Pro/Am goes off at 10:30 a.m. That is followed later in the day by the annual Granite City Food & Brewery Pro/Am Dinner Party. The event, from 5:30-8 p.m., brings together all the professional and amateur golfers, all of our wonderful sponsors and GCRO committee members in a celebration of friendship and hard work. This is also at the Hunters Ridge Lodge and is a must-come! Entertainment will again be provided by B.F. Burt.
Finally, the official 54-hole tournament itself kicks off at 7 a.m. Thursday off both the Nos. 1 and 10 tees. Approximately 130 pros and 15 amateurs are scheduled to tee it up. The pros will be competing for another $30,000 first-place prize and maybe a springboard to bigger and better things in their aspiring golf careers!
Action continues at 7 a.m. Friday with second-round play.
After cutting the field, the third and final round will be held Saturday with the leaders scheduled to go off at about 11 a.m. (check tee times later this week). The awards ceremony is tentatively set for about 4 p.m. and will feature not only the check ceremony, but the winner will be the second recipient of the Bob Brooks-Sam Farner TrueNorth Greater Cedar Rapids Open Memorial Trophy.
Admission is free all week.
Please come out and support this great community event.
The GCRO has given back over $200,000 to the community since its inception in 1999. Last year the GCRO made a record charitable contribution of over $22,000 to various youth and veterans programs in the community. It included an $8,000 contribution to the Iowa PGA Foundation’s “Swings with Kids” program that was earmarked for the Linn-Mar Community School District. The previous three years the GCRO made a total contribution of $24,000 to the Iowa PGA program that has allowed the Cedar Rapids School District and the Marion Independent School District to begin the physical education program in all their elementary schools.Come out and join us!