LYNN– It was a night to remember Saturday at Gannon Golf Course when the Men’s Inner Club held its second annual “Sport Coat Night” to honor its 2018 winners and kick-off the 2019 season.
“The event is getting bigger every year as more and more members are getting involved,” Gannon Men’s Inner Club President Bob Cross said. “The Inner Club received praise for bringing the event to life but without the support of the members we’d have no event.
“Longtime member Ozzie Gauvain has been a member for over 40 years and said it was great to see this event back in the house as he remembered, and still has some awards from many years ago. The members received many awards and were all recognized for their support.”
Cross said over 150 people were in attendance.
“I think it was a great success,” Cross said. “It was just an idea last year. It all kind of came together. We can’t do these events without the participation. It’s great seeing so many people getting involved. People are playing golf and now they’re taking home some memories with the hardware. It’s pretty cool.”
Among those who were honored at the event was John Boland, the 2018 club champion. Boland, a two-time champion, received his club trophy Saturday night and delivered a speech about the Gannon family and the Inner Club’s history.
“John had a few surgeries throughout the previous year with a knee replacement and shoulder surgery,” Cross said. “He did a ton of rehab over the winter and we were all making fun of him. Then he comes back and wins the club championship.
“If we did a ‘comeback player of the year’ John would’ve won that too,” Cross said. “But it’s only our second year doing this. We’re still building it up.”
Also honored Saturday were five young adults, each receiving a $500 scholarship in memory of the late Chris Danahy. The scholarship recipients were Olivia Langlois, Abby Stafford, Abby Morris, Sarah Calvani and Megan Santry. A former club member, Danahy died in 2005. Gannon hosts a tournament in his honor each year, and the tournament helps raise money for the scholarships. Also donating toward the scholarships were the Gannon’s Women’s Inner Club and Gannon Building Association.
“We hold that tournament every spring and raise money from that,” Cross said. This year we had five girls and they all got $500. It’s an annual tournament, it’s something we do every year. They’re young adults who are going to college. We know the cost of that. The money used to go to various kids around the North Shore. Last year we said ‘let’s keep it in house.’ We’re going to try to keep building that up and do a couple other fundraisers as well.”
The club now turns the page toward preparing for the 2019 season.
“We chose March to award everyone and close last year,” Cross said. “Now we’re ready for the 2019 season. The course is already open. Pat Manning and his staff do a great job with getting it ready. The inner club has about a dozen championships. We have meetings once a month, open to all members. Guys give us ideas, we sit down, go through them and then we put it all together. We work with (Gannon Head Professional) Dave Simbley and work our schedule with the Women’s Inner Club.”