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Eirin Amundsen Memorial Golf tournament attracts many

Seventy-two golfers gathered on the greens last Thursday, to honour and show their support for Eirin Amundsen, a friend to many who was lost but not forgotten.
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Eirin Amundsen Memorial Golf tournament raised $15,434 towards a new pavilion, on Thursday. Phil McLachlan/The Free Press

Seventy-two golfers gathered on the greens last Thursday, to honour and show their support for Eirin Amundsen, a friend to many who was lost but not forgotten.

One-hundred and ten came to the dinner, which followed the golf tournament.

Amundsen was a registered nurse at the Elk Valley Hospital, who was taken unexpectedly in a car accident, January 2015. Amundsen was avid in athletics, and played soccer for the Victoria Vikings. She was also a coach, and a mentor.

“There were a group of us that decided that we wanted to do something to keep the memory alive,” said Vanessa Stamler, one of the organizers for the golf fundraiser.

“Everybody, I have to stress that the community, and all the businesses, have been really supportive,” she said.

By the end of the day, the memorial golf tournament had raised $15,434 in memory of Amundsen.

On April 3, 2016, this committee of family and friends decided to launch a Kickstarter campaign in order to raise funds for a shade structure at the Max Turyk soccer fields. The pavilion project will honour Amundsen who was, “a valued member of the Fernie Youth Soccer Association.”

“The Eirin Amundsen Memorial Pavilion will serve as a legacy piece that will inspire the youth of our community to lead an active lifestyle and pursue an on-going commitment to academics,” reads the Kickstarter description.

The committee saw a need at the fields, where many youth practice and play soccer during the season. They saw an inadequacy in proper washrooms, change rooms, hydration stations and shade areas during practice. The Fernie Youth Soccer Association currently relies on the Max Turyk building facilities, which contains a single washroom and change room. Problems have surfaced when there are mixed-gender teams, with only one change room and one sink to fill water bottles and wash hands.

The proposed project will include a 1780 square foot pavilion, which will included a 103 square foot concession area with six picnic tables, as well as washrooms for both genders, each 100 square feet in size. There will also be an outdoor water fountain, and a 95 square foot storage closet. Solar lighting will serve as an energy-saving light source, and the entire pavilion will be wheelchair accessible.

With the full support of the city, the only step left is to raise the necessary funds.

With the latest totals from the golf tournament held this past Thursday the committee has secured $120k cash in hand, thanks to committee fundraising, corporate and public donations, as well as a few grants.

They have also secured $58,000 in-kind labour promised from the College of the Rockies.

This puts the committee at $176,000 of a projected $320,000 required for the project.

Donations are accepted by the City of Fernie under the account name Eirin Amundsen, as well as through Fernie Youth Soccer during spring registration.



Phil McLachlan

About the Author: Phil McLachlan

Phil McLachlan is the editor at the Penticton Western News. He served as the reporter, and eventually editor of The Free Press newspaper in Fernie.
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