7/22/16
(Chehalis, WA) The turn-out was spectacular for the Visiting Nurses Million-Dollar shoot-out and when the
time came a local sports reporter ended up closest of all. Jenny Collins, the Visiting Nurses Executive Director, says they put this event together to act as a pre-function celebration the night before the Visiting Nurses charity golf tournament. Collins says the tournament was sold out long ago and there were many who got shut out so this event was meant as an option for those who didn’t get in to be able to compete and have a chance to give to the cause.
Both the Shoot-out and the Tournament are at Riverside Golf course in Chehalis. The Shoot-out had a 3-hour qualifying time where contestants would purchase a shooters pass for $10. This got them 3 chances to get closest to the flag planted out on the driving range. The top 3 would then move on for their chance at 1-million dollars.
The three qualifiers made their way out to the Riverside hole #6 Shane O’Rourke, Logan Boone and Matt Baide. The three would get 1 chance only to hole-in-one it from 165 yards for the Grand Prize Million Dollars. Boone went first and got great air under it but it drifted to the right and checked up just off the green.
Matt Baide, a Chronicle sports reporter who began covering the event for the paper but took a shot at qualifying himself and did so. Baide was now covering himself as he stepped up to the ball and also had great height and distance. The ball landed on the green also to the right but not much spin stopped about 20 feet short.
The final contestant, attorney Shane O’Rourke, didn’t quite catch the ball cleanly off the tee and the ball began slicing and hit a tree branch that knocked the ball down short of the green.
Baide ended up the closet but did not win the life changing Million Dollars but did win a great prize package including golf at Riverside. The package was worth more than $400. The event in total raised a couple thousand dollars for Visiting Nurses that provide home health care and hospice services. Collins says it was a great start to a huge fundraising weekend for Visiting Nurses where Collins expects to far surpass last years $35,000. Collins reminded everyone at the event all the money raised at the shoot-out and golf tournament goes back into the community helping people in need of the Visiting Nurses services. Collins says the 3 thrift stores they operate cover all the administration and overhead of Visiting Nurses and that allows every penny of their fundraising events to go towards their mission.
Collins was excited with the results of the first shoot out and believes it will be back next year. Who knows maybe someone next year will roll in a life changing shot but if not, it goes to a great cause the Visiting Nurses Foundation.
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