THUNDER BAY – Nearly four-and-a-half years after his passing from cancer, Dustin Barr has not been forgotten.
The biggest impact of his legacy is felt each year at the Raising the Barr charity golf tournament, which held its fifth edition on Friday afternoon at Whitewater Golf Club.
“It just keeps growing and growing in terms of the support that we get,” said Dustin Wilson, director of operations.
“We’ve raised more and more money each year and it shows that when people see what you’re doing in the community, especially here in Thunder Bay, the community really has your back.”
Heading into this year’s tournament, Raising the Barr has raised $250,000 to help support young adults and children battling life-threatening illnesses in Northwestern Ontario as well as the organizations that directly supported Barr in his battle against cancer.
Ronald McDonald House Charities, Make-A-Wish Canada, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation and Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer are among the causes that have received donations from the tournament since it started in 2020.
Wilson got to know Barr for over a decade as he served as his golf coach and travelled around North America with him for different events.
“Dustin was a fighter,” Wilson said. “He actually played in the PGA Tour Canada event here at Whitewater (in 2017) while he was in his seventh round of chemotherapy.
“He was like a brother to me and his parents are like family to me. His whole story is very heroic and that’s part of the reason why we’re here all here today.”
One of the big elements of the tournament is the Golf Balls from Heaven fundraiser, where balls are dropped from a helicopter towards a makeshift pin in the middle of the 18th fairway.
The ball that’s closest to the pin wins $5,000, with the second and third closest balls receiving $3,000 and $2,000 in prizes.
Due to foggy conditions that prevented the helicopter from taking off prior to the start of the tournament, the drop was pushed back to Friday night.
“It’s pretty much raining golf balls when it happens and it’s been super fun in the past,” Wilson said.
“We used the practice green for the first year, which didn’t go over quite that well with the members, but we moved it to the 18th fairway after that and it’s worked out great.”
There have also been new elements added to the tournament.
A glow in the dark shootout was held on Thursday night and Stony Wilds partnered with the event to design hats, hoodies and shirts.
“It’s really cool that the more we put into the tournament, the more we get back from it,” Wilson said.
