A local charity golf tournament has been rebranded to honour a late Swift Current fire chief.
On Monday the Dr. Noble Irwin Regional Healthcare Foundation announced they’d rebranded their June golf event, the Darren McClelland Memorial Charity Golf Classic.
The decision was an easy one for Jim Dekowny, the executive director of the Dr. Noble Irwin Regional Healthcare Foundation, to help enact.
“We’ve got a really good opportunity here to pay tribute to an amazing firefighter, chief, dad, and husband,” he said. “Kent [Silbernagel], Duane Doane, and myself just thought it was a good fit. We went to Nikki McClelland with our idea and she welcomed us with open arms.”
According to Dekowny, the idea really blossomed during the Bob Pollock Memorial Lobster Pot Par 3 Golf Classic last summer. Another tournament that the healthcare foundation has rebranded in memory of a local.
This spring will mark the 17th installment of the event that’s raised funds for Swift Current’s emergency services and the Dr. Noble Irwin Regional Healthcare Foundation. Not only does it raise money for the Swift Current Fire Department but also the Swift Current EMS, two organizations McClelland had significant ties to.
“When Darren started out, he actually started out on the EMS side with Duane and his group in the ambulance,” he explained. “He progressed from there to be a firefighter and then progressed onto to being the chief in town.”
The event will host 244 golfers at Swift Current’s Elmwood Golf Course & Chinook Golf Course on June 3 with tickets available starting on April 18.
“It’s going to be one of those things where people are going to have to register quickly with the amount of feedback we’ve received already,” he said.
McClelland passed away at the age of 48 in early 2020.
Written by David Zammit
Source: Swift Current Online
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