On Friday, August 11, the Suffield Rotary Club hosts the 32nd Annual Glenn T. Packard Golf Tournament at the Oak Ridge Golf Club. The shotgun style tournament starts at 8:30 a.m. and includes lunch and drinks on the course, an hour of free beer, prizes, raffles and great camaraderie with friends old and new. For those who register and pay by July 17 the price is $150, increasing to $175 after that date. You can register a full team or as an individual in which case we will pair you with other players. Please call or email Tournament Chair Michael Loudon at (770)283-7608 & loudon62@gmail.com or Jay Presser at JayPresser@gmail.com to request a registration form or contribute as a sponsor at some level.
For those who may not know, Glenn, the son of Flo Packard and the late Warren Packard, was an outstanding three-sport athlete at Suffield High, and an All-State soccer player who played on our state championship soccer team in 1978. Returning to Suffield from the University of Notre Dame, Glenn with his wife Sandy, began to raise a family, with daughters Marissa and Rachel and son Colin. He became an active volunteer coach for soccer and basketball and volunteered assisting inner-city children. Glenn was a passionate golfer with an indomitably positive attitude.
Tragically, at the age of 31, Glenn was killed in a freak motor vehicle accident on I-91. Virtually immediately his friends decided to create a foundation in Glenn’s name and to start a golf tournament to raise funds for it. The objective was, is, and has always been, “to enhance the quality of educational sports and recreational programs in the community” and “… to achieve these goals by employing the integrity, determination, enthusiasm and charitable spirit that Glenn demonstrated throughout his life”. Ultimately, at the request of the Glenn Packard Foundation, the Suffield Rotary Club assumed responsibility for running the tournament.
The tournament is well attended every year, with some players returning for each of the 31 prior tournaments. Due to the support of the players, along with the contributions of generous sponsors, from the proceeds of the tournament substantially over $400,000 has been invested in our town. The results of these donations can be seen throughout town, and include the construction of the Suffield Rotary Hut at Suffield High School, the Packard Soccer Field at Bruce Park, dugouts and batting cages for the SHS baseball and softball teams, the Parks and Recreation Pavilion at Bruce Park, the installation of emergency defibrillators at athletic fields throughout the town, building the Sunrise Park playground, baseball/softball batting cages for the Suffield Little League; contributing to the tennis and basketball courts at the Suffield Recreational complex; donating for playscapes at Spaulding and the former Bridge Street school, lights at the Suffield High School track (including lacrosse and soccer fields), the Timing System for the SHS Track team,; goals for SHS Field Hockey, Babb’s Beach Improvements, the PTO Playscape, replacing the bench paddings at Beneski Field, and multiple scoreboards for various sports and organizations.