For a guy who is hosting a golf tournament in a week, Chris Keller sounds remarkably calm.
I told Chris that running a golf tournament for the second time must be a lot easier than it was his first time through.
“It seems like,” Chris said with a chuckle. “The struggle is getting people to commit to playing, but it does get easier as it goes.”
So far, Chris has persuaded 80 people to play in the second annual Marshall Dean Keller Memorial Golf Tournament, which will be held Friday, Aug. 3, at the Carthage Municipal Golf Course.
His first attempt at running a golf tournament was last year, and with little experience he managed to raise $16,100 for SIDS Resources, a not-for-profit group that helps families affected by sudden infant death syndrome.
Chris is from Parsons, Kan., where I spent some time and where my brothers still live. He was the manager of the Comeau Jewelry store in Joplin, and I gave Chris a lot of money in exchange for things my wife wanted.
Over time, Chris and I discovered our Parsons connection and found that we knew a lot of the same people. It was several months after I met Chris that I learned of his interest in raising money for the SIDS program. Marshall Dean Keller was Chris and Jamie’s first child. He died of SIDS when he was 3 1/2 months old.
Over the past 20 years, the number of SIDS-related deaths has dropped dramatically, but still thousands of babies die from it every year. Researchers have yet to determine exactly why it happens. What is known is that SIDS often strikes infants between 2 and 4 months of age, and that almost all SIDS deaths occur without warning.
After Marshall’s death, Chris and Jamie participated in a number of events to raise money and awareness for SIDS. Doing that, I think, helped them deal with Marshall’s death. It also brought them into contact with other people who had suffered the same unimaginable loss that they had.
Recently, Chris and Jamie have met a number of couples who have suffered through the stillbirth deliveries of children, and those stories also have had an impact on them.
They found a way to focus on SIDS and stillborn children through an organization called First Candle, a national not-for-profit dedicated to ensuring safe pregnancies and the survival of babies through the first years of their lives. First Candle works to eliminate stillbirths, SIDS and other unexpected infant deaths.
For Chris, the connection with First Candle has come full circle. He belongs to an organization of independent jewelers, and the year Marshall died, the group at one of its annual meetings raised $30,000 in Marshall’s name and donated it to First Candle.
“That was our first time dealing with First Candle, and we thought it would be nice to go back to them this year,” Chris said.
If you would like to take part in the Marshall Dean Keller Memorial Golf Tournament, you have time. The cost for a two-person team is $100 per golfer, and includes a free lunch, cart and green fees and a tournament gift bag. For more information or to enter the tournament, people may call 620-719-9795.
DO YOU HAVE AN IDEA for Mike Pound’s column? Call him at 417-623-3480, ext. 7259, or email him at mpound@joplinglobe.com. Follow him on Twitter @mikepoundglobe.
Local News
Mike Pound: Take a few swings for a worthy cause
- Local News
-
-
Jasper County to start enforcing newly adopted nuisance ordinance
Jasper County has received 15 complaints based on a new nuisance ordinance adopted earlier this spring, members of the County Commission said Tuesday. John Bartosh, presiding commissioner, said he and the other commissioners reviewed the complaints during a meeting last week with workers at the Jasper County Health Department.
-
Neosho School Board votes to boost custodians’ salaries
Action taken Monday night by the Neosho Board of Education on salaries was designed partly to retain custodians. The measure approved by the board gives custodians, with a starting salary of $8.77 an hour, a 10 percent raise.
-
Mike Pound: Carthage holding parties for a good cause
When my wife told me that we were going to host a party, I had only one question: Why? My wife might be the party-hosting sort of person, but I am not. She said this party was for a good cause. She also told me that our friends Lana and Bill, Lee Ann and Rob, and Amy and Jimmy were going to help host it.
-
Proposal would reduce 20th Street to two lanes
A design proposal that would convert much of 20th Street into two lanes instead of four from Main Street to Campbell Parkway to make room for streetscape and green features did not draw much public support on Tuesday.
-
Local runners show support for Boston in cross-country relay
After completing the Boston Marathon on April 15, Ashleigh Beyersdorfer made her way through the throngs of runners to retrieve the bag she had checked in and was on her way to meet up with her family when she heard the explosions.
-
MSSU board to complete terms of president’s departure
The Board of Governors of Missouri Southern State University will meet Wednesday to complete the terms of the agreement that terminated President Bruce Speck’s contract, board Chairwoman Sherry Buchanan said.
-
State’s key witness testifies in murder trial
The fate of Dustin Boggs may ultimately depend on the credibility of Arturo Council. If jurors believe Council, then Boggs, 25, could be convicted of first-degree murder in the 2012 stabbing and shooting death of his ex-girlfriend, Danyel Borden, 21, at his trial this week in Ottawa County District Court.
-
Swimmers attempt to set world record
Even before the instructor had finished giving his direction to the class of young swimmers, 4-year-old Alexa DeBerry had dunked herself underwater and had come up giggling.
-
Missouri moves to lift ban on foreign farm owners
Weeks before a Chinese conglomerate agreed to buy Smithfield Foods Inc. in the largest such takeover of a U.S. business, Missouri lawmakers quietly approved legislation removing a ban on foreign ownership of agricultural land.
-
Neosho Board of Education approves 10 percent raise in effort to keep custodians
School custodians are receiving the biggest percentage raise among salaries approved Monday by the Neosho Board of Education.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Jasper County to start enforcing newly adopted nuisance ordinance
