One picture is worth a thousand words. Thank you, Jim.
Bob Edelblut
Thursday, January 26 was The MountainView-Preserve Men’s Club first luncheon meeting of the new year. Old Man Weather tried as best he could to freeze the field but our experienced organizers acted quickly to modify the event thus insuring that the buffet line and business discussions would begin and end on time. Cheers!
If you are asking what “Jim Handrigan Takes His Bows” has to do with an MPMGA monthly luncheon, the answer is everything. Jim and his wife Cathy have lived in SaddleBrooke for almost 16 years. They love it here and could very easily be card carrying members of a SaddleBrooke Chamber of Commerce. Jim for many years was an active member of the Men’s Club and additionally was the founder, creator and, for years, the only staff member of a well-known enterprise called Kids’ Closet Golf Balls.
Jim spent his entire professional life working as a counselor to children. His only goal each and every day was to help all the children he encountered find their way. He loved his job, his life. Fast forward just a bit and envision Jim and Cathy arriving in SaddleBrooke, ready for retirement. Do you really think that Jim could let go that easily? Of course not!
His answer to the “What do I do next?” question was—start a new business that helps children in need! His business plan was fool proof. Let me fill you in. Jim discovered the Kids’ Closet and learned about all the great things they were doing. Jim said to himself that he was going to find a way to help their cause. Did I say that Jim was a golfer? He learned in his very first round of golf at MountainView that golfers lose balls in the desert all day long. What, he said, can I do with all those “lost” balls resting alone in the desert? The answer was simple—find them, clean them, make them look like new and then, of course, sell them. Can you imagine his excitement when he realized that golf balls equal money and money is what the Kids’ Closet needs to purchase new clothes for children? He was in heaven!
Maybe the best part of Jim’s plan is that he let all of us share in his feel good story. His new community, his new friends, his new golfing buddies all became his army of volunteers that made his Golf Ball Exchange Program flourish. Or maybe the best part of his plan is that it will continue to give and give and that the Kids’ Closet will always enjoy the rewards of his efforts.
I guess you have figured out that the Men’s Club took the time at its monthly luncheon to officially thank and honor Jim for—for everything. It was a pleasure. Thank you, Jim, one more time.