Mayana Gaudry was bewildered and a little starstruck as country music star Chad Brownlee stopped to autograph the back of her jacket.
The 13-year-old couldn’t believe her good fortune to meet up with Brownlee as he came off the stage after a private concert in Walnut Grove Tuesday night, near the conclusion to the annual Boys of Fall Charity Golf Tournament.
Brownlee and co-host, friend, and fellow country star Dallas Smith of Langley have been hosting the day-long event for seven years now. And both were elated with the results.
The event, which is all about raising money for the JRfm’s Basics for Babies charity, managed to generate in excess of $200,000.
“Can you believe that,” Smith said repeatedly, as he looked at the cheque presented at night’s end.
The duo was pleased to earn $15,000 in the first year, which has since grown into a sold-out summer smash, attracting 144 golfers and earning a record $140,000 for Basics for Babies charity in 2018.
“We got involved through the [radio] station when we were up-and-coming country artists,” Smith explained.
Basics for Babies was created in 1994 by the country station to raise funds, diapers, clothing, and formulas after a shortage of infant products at the Greater Vancouver Food Bank was noted.
“Basics for Babies has expanded all across B.C. It’s great to see when something you’re doing has a direction correlation from helping out,” Brownlee added.
WATCH: Thank you for your support
Food Bank and Basics for Babies spokesperson Terra Paredes was once again brought to tears when this year’s total of $201,120 was presented.
“I can’t bring words to say what this means right now. It’s just fewer hungry babies, and more diapers on bums, and just happy people – happy babies… thank you. Thank you so much,” Paredes said.
Asked if it’s a go for 2020, co-host Doug Hawley, the managing director of Redwoods, simply responded: “Hell yeah!”
“Our babies need formula and diapers… and we bring people together and they just open their hearts and start giving. It’s amazing. Naturally, we’d do it again. There’s a need.”
The date for the Boys of Fall Charity Golf Tournament is already booked for next year, Hawley confirmed. It’s the third Tuesday in August.
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READ MORE FROM EARLIER IN THE DAY: Nothing but Summer and the Boys of Fall
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