Story
The MACC Fund is a special organization for me and one I enjoy to give back my time and energy to. As some know, I was diagnosed at the age of 8 (about 2 weeks before my 9th birthday) with Non Hodgkin's T-Cell lymphoma. What was thought to be a minor croup like cough, my diagnosis was discovered by chance later by my fantastic family doctor, Dr. Don Stewart in Fond Du Lac via X-ray. This x-ray revealed a grapefruit sized tumor in my chest cavity in my lung and heart region, later diagnosed as stage 4 hodgkin's lymphoma. After years of battling this diagnosis, I was given the cancer free celebration around the age of 12.
Throughout the 4+ years of treatment at Children's Hospital in Milwaukee, and years to follow of rehabilitation of my body, golf was almost always the sport I could play. Sports as a kid that I loved like baseball, hockey, football got taken away from me for those 4+ years, but golf remained a constant. That definitely is the reason golf plays such a huge part in my life, as it served as a escape and a source of family bonding with my Dad, 4 brothers, extended family, and life long friends. It's always been something I can bond with, even in my weakest moments of my cancer journey. Now, using golf as a mechanism to raise awareness for a such a great cause is very rewarding to me.
The 50 Hole Hike for HOPE is an event to celebrate the MACC Fund's 50th anniversary year in 2026, I am honored to join a small group of golfers who will set out on a '50 Hole Hike for HOPE' on May 27th, 2026, to support the MACC Fund in the fight against childhood cancer and related blood disorders.
The MACC Fund for 50 years has been dedicated to finding a cure for childhood cancer by raising money for direct research here in Wisconsin. The MACC Fund has contributed nearly $90 million dollars since 1976 and in that time, the five-year survival rate for all types of childhood cancer rates has gone from 20%, to over 80% today. Incredible!
The MACC Fund has an amazing charity partner where this event will be played. The Club at Lac La Belle's 'Charity Week' for the grand opening of their new Par 3 Course, Uncle Henry's Backyard is gearing up to be an amazing event. I am gearing up for golf next spring and will set out to play 50 holes of golf on May 27th, to raise critical funding for childhood cancer and related blood disorders research.
Your support, large or small, is truly a gift of HOPE and much appreciated!
For more information on the MACC Fund, please see this link