In its fifteenth year of running, we welcomed new golfers, new supporters, long-time champions, and familiar faces to the exceptional Golf for Joy Tournament at the beautiful Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club near Portland, Oregon.

Thanks to the relentless efforts of our community, we raised over one million dollars for JoyRx Music, Mentorship, and Nature — the most ever raised in the history of the Golf for Joy Tournament.

We are truly grateful and humbled by this astounding gesture of support and philanthropy.

Friendly Faces, New and Known

This year’s event saw many golf supporters from the CCA Invitational, a golf event hosted for sixteen years, that joined forces with Golf for Joy to create one massively successful golf tournament. As a key impact driver for our organization, CCA Invitational has raised over $3.5 million to ensure our programs remain free of charge for families and hospital partners. With the power of Golf for Joy and CCA Invitational combined into one premier event, we saw 200 amateurs and pros taking to both Witch Hollow and Ghost Creek golf courses.

“Look at us,” Dale Johannes, auctioneer for DC Auctions, said during the dinner program, gesturing to the crowd spilling out from underneath the outdoor tent and enjoying the sunshine on the patio, “We’ve outgrown our tent! I’ve never seen this before!”

And what a fun night it was– not only during our dinner and program, but during our cocktail party beforehand, Birdies & Bubbles. Our incredible golf community was treated to refreshing sips from our friends at Lytle Barnett & Aubaine wines, a perfect way to kick off the night.

The Long-Lasting Impact

With long-time supporter of Children’s Cancer Association, Wesleigh Ogle from KATU News, leading the program alongside auctioneer Dale Johannes, the evening included remarks from Ashley Hedum, representing our Presenting Sponsor, Northwestern Mutual; our CEO, Jack Pipkin; JoyRx-served mom, Shelby Tisdale, and CEO of L.A.B. Golf, Sam Hahn, in a special Q&A session.

“The magnitude of this moment, this anniversary, and this incredible showing of support tonight is unbelievable. We have more guests and teams participating than ever before in Golf for Joy’s history!” Jack told the crowd, pausing in his remarks to let the crowd finish cheering.

Spirits were high throughout the night, the amazing community of golfers rallying together to raise money for the kids. With a silent auction, live auction, and special appeal, there were many opportunities to give back to those in need of joy.

Whenever there was a pause in the auction bidding, for example, a similar refrain would rise up from the crowd: “It’s for the kids!”

And for the kids, bidders raised their paddles in support of Children’s Cancer Association and our JoyRx programs.

Over the past fifteen years, Golf for Joy has raised over four million dollars for Children’s Cancer Association. After doing a little math, we calculated the number of children we’ve been able to serve thanks to that group’s unrelenting support:

With Golf for Joy funding, we’ve been able to reach an additional 25,000 sick children and teens that we would otherwise not be able to serve.

“That means 25,000 children and their families have had more support, more joy, more champions in their corner during treatment,” said Jack, “because of you.”

Celebrating Gay and His Contribution

As a special token of appreciation to Golf for Joy founder Gay Davis, Jack presented him with a special pocket square to match his Purple Jacket as a founding member of the Purple Jacket Society at Golf for Joy Tournament.

“It has the heart that Alexandra Ellis drew before she died of cancer thirty years ago… so that you can keep Alex’s heart close to yours, always,” said Jack as he tucked it into Gay’s jacket for him.

The heartfelt moment spoke to the great love, dedication, and impact Gay has had on the Children’s Cancer Association. Fifteen years ago, Golf for Joy was a one-man show, and today, it’s become something truly extraordinary.

It isn’t just growth in the tournament we’ve seen, too.

“It was only a couple of years ago that the organization was serving 19,000 children,” Gay said in his remarks to the crowd. “In such a short amount of time, they've reached around 40,000 children. How amazing is that?”

It’s true that we’ve had tremendous growth over the last couple of years, as outlined in our Community Investment Reports.

From 2020–2021 to 2021–2022, the number of kids and teens served more than doubled, increasing by 111.5%

From 2021–2022 to 2022–2023, we saw an additional 30.0% increase

From 2022–2023 to 2023–2024, our reach grew by another 32.6% increase

While we’re still working on our 2024-2025 fiscal year report, that trajectory continues with an estimated 40,000 children served. (Keep an eye out for our Community Investment Report later this year!

Seeing Joy Firsthand

Most special of all, though, was hearing from JoyRx-served mom Shelby Tisdale, who shared the powerful story of her son, Cohen, and his treatment journey.

Shelby described the process of her son’s diagnosis of Severe Aplastic Anemia and the uneasiness, fear, and confusion of that time. Thankfully for Cohen and Shelby, Children’s Cancer Association was there for them.

“It was such a gift,” Shelby shared. “Cohen loved when JoyRx Music teams came in with an instrument or a song. I’d see his face just light up in the middle of the toughest days.”

As soon as Shelby learned about JoyRx Mentorship, she knew it was the program that could make a real difference for Cohen:

“Cohen ended up having two JoyRx Mentors – one for each round of chemo. And when Jared or Sean was there with him – it meant the world to us.
It meant more fun for Cohen- playing Rock ‘Em, Sock ‘Em Robots with Sean, or enjoying the giant toy bag of Legos that Jared would bring.
And their visits gave me time and space. I was a single mom, off work for months, who was doing absolutely everything I could for my son. I was afraid that treatment wasn’t working, I was afraid that we wouldn’t be able to find a bone marrow transplant match. I was grappling with the fact that he might not make it. Knowing I could trust his mentors and step away was an incredible relief.”

Through it all, Cohen got through treatment and graduated from high school just a couple of weeks ago. His goal? To become a pediatric oncologist, to help kids who went through the same thing he did at age six.

Shelby is also a member of the L.A.B. Golf team, working alongside Sam Hahn. After her speech, he was quick to stand and offer her a huge hug during the crowd’s standing ovation. It was an emotional moment all around.

“THIS is why we’re here tonight,” said Dale after Shelby’s speech, leading the crowd into a powerful display of generosity and philanthropy through a special appeal.

The night concluded with a Q&A with Sam Hahn, facilitated by Dale. The audience had a few friendly jabs to Gay and other Golf for Joy committee members in addition to insightful questions about L.A.B. Golf’s future, PGA professionals, and the importance of joy.

Taking to Witch Hollow and Ghost Creek

Part of the draw of this tournament is the chance for golfers to play on two pristine and exclusive courses at Pumpkin Ridge. We’re delighted to offer congratulations to our amateur foursome winners: Team Captain Brian Revord, with Noel Preston, Tyler Breault, and Chris Theriault, playing with pro Jeff Gustafson from Club Green Meadows.  And hats off to our winners in the pro competition: Bryce Fisher, from Arrowhead Golf Club, and Ryan Siegler, from Baltimore Country Club.  

You can see all final scores and results here.

Thank you to our wonderful Golf for Joy committee — co-chairs Gay Davis and Fred Buckman Jr., with members Fred Buckman Sr., Pat McCabe, Jeremy Reedal, and Sean Edwards — who were instrumental in bringing this event to life.

We’re so grateful for our presenting sponsor, Northwestern Mutual; our reception sponsor, Hoffmann Construction; our pin flag & hole sponsors, Western Pacific Building Materials and Gresham Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram; and our drink cart sponsors, Mattress World and Umpqua Bank.

We are feeling so inspired by Sam Hahn and his lovely conversation during the Q&A session. And, of course, our hearts are full because of the story of Cohen — thank you, Shelby, for sharing your family’s story (and congratulations and best wishes to Cohen as he starts college in the fall!) and honoring us with your presence.

Check out the photos below for highlights of the tournament and program: