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Media Coverage
Kelowna Capital News, August 16, 2008 Celebrities coming to Couple’s Rise golf club for charity By Brent Mutis What do Charles Barkley, Alan Thicke, Mario Lemieux and Lui Passaglia have in common? They have all agreed to come to the Okanagan to take part in a celebrity golf tournament to raise funds for several charities. The Kids Rock Celebrity Invitational (KRKCI) is happening Aug. 27 to 31 at the Fred Couples-designed Rise Golf Club in Vernon. The goal is $100,000 and proceeds will go towards the Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada, Canadian Cancer Society’s Camp Goodtimes, and Kelowna General Hospital. The tournament is the brainchild of Andy Buckner and Alex Marriott. Buckner is the president of KRKCI and is himself battling cancer. After spending time in hospitals and being around kids who were fighting the disease, he decided he wanted to do something to help. It was while playing in a celebrity golf tournament in January that he came up with the idea to host his own event. The tournament’s director of sales, marketing and sponsorship Jonathan Kun says the money generated will go a long way towards bringing joy to the life of a sick child. “Some kids just want to do something like horseback riding or jumping on a water trampoline and it may not seem like much but if we can even do something small for these kids, it can make a big difference,” he said adding that this will be the largest celebrity event to hit the Okanagan Valley. Some kids will actually have the opportunity to make their dreams come true at the event itself when they take the stage with Canadian band Tupelo Honey. Longtime B.C. Lions kicker and all-time CFL leading scorer Passaglia has had plenty of experience helping out kids by meeting them and through fundraising and is looking forward to this event. “I’ve been fortunate through my career in football to help out charities and visit kids in hospital,” said the father of four. “You’re always thinking that one day there will be a cure for some of these diseases.” A spot in the tournament costs $3,500 but right now a “fire sale” price of $1,250 is being offered for locals that gets them everything minus accommodations, said Kun. Other celebrities who have agreed to attend include Phoenix Coyote’s defenceman Ed Jovanovski, former L.A. Kings owner Bruce McNall, singer Meat Loaf, former NBA star Charles Oakley, and Emmy-nominated actor Gregory Itzin from 24. For registration or corporate sponsorship opportunities call Jonathan Kun at 250-575-6773 or e-mail to jonathan@krkci.com For additional information regarding the project, click on the logo: 
Reprinted from Kelowna Capital News |
