Well for the 1st time in the 13-year history of the Jimmy V Golf tournament, I got to play in it. Each year there is a media challenge for the locals and the winner of that tournament earns a spot in the Jimmy V weekend. On Saturday Team WRAL (Jeff Gravley, Brad Simmons, Josh Hailey and Matt Clark) took to the course with national broadcaster Ann Liguori. She has carved so many paths for women in sports broadcasting and sports writing. On Sunday our celebrity was Mitch Laurance. He of Night Court fame and various movies. He's also a TV commentator for pro billiards and his wife is noted pool player Ewa"The Striking Viking" Laurance.
There are 3 courses at Prestonwood Country Club in Cary...3 courses, 3 winning teams. We played well enough on Sunday to finish first on the Fairways course. What added to a memorable day was how much we laughed and joked. My face hurt at the end of the day!!
Jim Valvano felt each day you should laugh and cry..."That's a full day" he always said. We filled the laughing criteria on the golf course and Saturday night the tears flowed. At the gala, black-tie event, one of Jim and Pam Valvano's daughter's, Jamie got up and spoke about her continuing battle with breast cancer. She spoke about the courage to fight cancer. Something she learned from her father's own battle.
Having lost my Dad to cancer in 1997 I have badly wanted to be a part of the Jimmy V Golf weekend. It was everything I had hoped it would be. We laughed, we cried, we had a full weekend just like Coach V would have wanted it to be.
