By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
On Friday, Aug. 30, the LYNX Golf Course hosted its Fifth Annual Patriot Golf Day event in support of Folds of Honor.
And according to LYNX general manager Jim Szilagyi, the day couldn’t have gone better.
“This proved to be our best Patriot Golf Day event to date,” he said. “I think my biggest takeaway from this year’s celebration is how incredibly brave our service members have been, and are today.”
Folds of Honor began in 2007 with a mission of providing “life-changing scholarships to the spouses and children to America’s fallen or disabled military.” That mission has now expanded to include first responders.
A sold-out field of 132 golfers participated in this year’s event at the LYNX, with a total of $74,000 being raised.
“We had some great donated prizes from many golf courses around the state for silent and live auctions, which helped us raise the money,” Szilagyi said.
Each year, the event seeks to honor a local resident who has served or is actively serving in the military. This year’s honoree was Allegan native Lt. Col. Rob Wallace, who was recently promoted from the rank of Major.
The day started with Wallace being recognized and having his photo taken with other active-duty and previously serving veterans who were participating in the event.
That was followed by the Otsego High School band leading the Otsego VFW Post 3030 Honor Guard in the flag presentation. The band then played the Star Spangled Banner with the VFW Honor Guard firing a ceremonial volley to honor the fallen, followed by “Taps” being performed.
“It was a beautiful start to the day,” Szilagyi said.
Breakfast and a putting contest were among the morning’s other activities. Once golf concluded, participants had lunch together while listening to guest speaker Army Sgt. Shane Vincent. A former professional BMX racer, Vincent gave up his career—and a shot at qualifying for the Olympics—to follow his passion to serve his country.
“Sgt Vincent proudly served our country for six years, including over 300 missions during 2007 in Iraq,” Szilagyi said. “Sgt. Vincent shared his heartfelt story of bravery and loss after his Humvee detonated a 1,500-pound bomb.
“He was severely injured and lost his best friend Cp. Casey Zylmal. He shared his road to recovery continues to this day.”
Those in attendance gave Vincent a standing ovation.
“Every year this event has gotten better and better,” Szilagyi said. “That amazes me and I greatly appreciate the generosity and spirit of our local Allegan County community to honor the many contributions of our military members.”
