Golf tournament raises $7,000 for cancer patients

AThe memory of Charlie Stroud is living on through an annual golf tournament named in his honor, the proceeds of which benefit people who struggle as he did.

Stroud died May 31, 2008, after a five-year battle with cancer. Family friend Scotty Richardson of Mayflower started the annual Charlie Stroud Golf Tournament five years ago in an effort to do something to help Stroud. Because of Stroud's fondness for golf, Richardson thought of holding a benefit tournament to help with medical bills, but Stroud refused to receive any proceeds. He wanted the proceeds to go to the Conway Cancer Foundation.

Over the years, the tournament has raised several thousand dollars to benefit the foundation. On May 16 at the Pine Valley Golf Course, this year's event raised about $7,100 for the foundation.

Paul Revis, a member of the Conway Cancer Foundation board of directors, said, "The cancer foundation really focuses on local needs of people. We provide things like transportation, all sorts of local needs of patients. So it's not going into research, it's just helping people get to the treatment center, or if they need medicine, there's a limited amount we can provide. We try to stretch the dollars as far as we can stretch, because the need far exceeds the capability.

"So what this (donation) means is we can assist more people in getting the treatment they need."

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Stroud's son, Jeremy Stroud, said his father learned about the Conway Cancer Foundation while undergoing treatment at CARTI.

"With Dad taking chemo up there, he met the people that were struggling financially," he said. "I can't express how much it meant to Dad to give the foundation some money. He made some friends there. They were all fighting the same fight."

Jeremy Stroud said after last year's tournament, his father set this year's goal at $7,000.

"His goal after last year was $7,000. It's gone up every year, and we actually gave them $7,100 this year," he said.

This year's tournament was hard without his father present, Jeremy Stroud said.

"He was my dad, but he was also my best friend. That was my golfing buddy. It was difficult, because he really loved that golf tournament and what it was for."

He continued, "He would literally give you the shirt off his back. He was funny, always funny and humorous. He had a good attitude right up until the day he died."

Dr. Sue Tsuda, Stroud's doctor, said of him in a prepared statement, "He was truly a humble man."

The next Charlie Stroud Memorial Golf Tournament is already scheduled for May 15, 2010.

(Staff writer Rachel Parker Dickerson can be reached by e-mail at rachel.dickerson@thecabin.net or by phone at 505-1277. Send us your news at www.thecabin.net/submit)