Kay Jewell Memorial Golf Tournament raises $20,000 for UCAN

The 2021 Kay Jewell Memorial Golf Tournament to benefit the United Cancer Assistance Network was as different from the 2020 event as night and day.

This year’s event cleared $20,000 and the number of teams increased by 10 to make 31 groups, with a total of 124 players.

UCAN Executive Director Melody Chailland talked about the difference a year made in the event. She remembered the Westwood Hills Country Club was closed because of COVID-19 during last year’s event.

“This one went smoother than anything we’ve ever done,” Chailland said. “Last year, the clubhouse got shut down the day before because the COVID and the pro shop was still going but closed in the middle of the tournament. We don’t even know who won or anything. We didn’t congregate afterwards. This year, we were able to go back into the clubhouse. We all had lunch together, and we were able to determine the winners.”

Chailland said, Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center sponsored the lunch and “Modern Woodman awarded us a $2,500 matching grant.”

While Sterling Bank’s team of Scott Spencer, Hunter Pyland, James Childress and JD Narber won the tournament, the real winners are the cancer patients helped by UCAN’s program, which is designed to fill a financial gap and provide individualized support for patients, Chailland said.

With the growing number of competitors in the four-person scramble golf tournament, Chailland said, “it was a long day. Tournaments usually go faster, but everybody was patient. Everybody had a good attitude. We had a great day.”

Sally and Don Metz organize the annual event and Chailland said they deserve special recognition. Work on the tournament gets underway when Chailland is busy with the Sarah Jarboe White Walk.

“The walk and the tournament are within a month of each other,” Chailland said. “They start planning the golf tournament way before I can get finished with the walk. They’re troopers, and they’ve been doing it for more than 10 years.”

Sally Metz is a UCAN board member and her husband, Don, have been organizing the event for more than a decade.

Sally Metz said, “Don is a cancer survivor. He’s been cancer free since his surgery.”

“We needed to give something back, and this is what we have done,” she continued. “UCAN just does wonders. I like the fact they are so amazing.”

Chailland said, “Larry Hillis Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Fiat and Baldwin Ford-Lincoln, Inc. each gave away five $100 bills and we gave out over $1,000 in cash prizes. Slug Hefner awarded a $500 gift certificate to Hefner Furniture.”

The car dealers decided they would rather people get the cash instead of them spending money toward insurance policies.

The tournament is named in memory of Kay Jewell, who was a long time UCAN volunteer and board treasurer for five years, said Chailland.

“Jewell was battling cancer for the fourth time when she died,” Chailland said. “Previously, the tournament was held in memory of Butch Brown, who was a local banker and a member of the UCAN board.”

When patients come to UCAN seeking help, they are greeted by volunteers whose lives have been touched by cancer. Often developing personal relationships, volunteers and patients uplift each other during visits. The funds help cancer patients with such items as fuel cards, transportation, utilities, groceries, medical expenses, housing, nutritional supplements and other necessities while taking chemotherapy and/or radiation, and are not able to work as a result.