For the past 25 years, the Roessl family has organized an annual golf tournament to honour Heather Roessl, raising almost $300,000 for the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) Foundation — a shining example of how the community can rally around the hospital in the memory of a loved one.
Franz (“Franzie”) Roessl was just three years old when his mother Heather was first diagnosed with melanoma in her leg. In 1988, at what was then the Peterborough Civic Hospital, she underwent surgery to remove the cancer, leaving her with a huge scar.
During eight years in remission, Heather had to regularly drive to the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto for follow-up care and check-ups.
“Whenever my mom was sick or wasn’t feeling well, she’d be driving to Toronto and it was just an absolute nightmare,” Franzie recalls.
On Father’s Day in 1996, the family learned Heather’s cancer had returned and she immediately underwent another surgery to have her cancerous lymph nodes removed and began care again. However, by Christmas of 1999, the cancer had metastasized.
Franzie was 15 years old when his mother passed away on March 20, 2000.
“I wouldn’t wish that upon anyone,” Franzie says. “I learned a lot from it. What my dad was taught growing up was that life goes on, so he wanted to celebrate her life rather than sit there and mourn.”
So it was then, three months after his wife’s passing, that Franz Roessl Sr. organized the very first golf tournament in her honour at Pine Crest Golf Club in Peterborough with the help of Heather’s best friend.
“My mom golfed all the time,” Franzie recalls. “She wasn’t afraid to have some fun and it was an excuse to go have a couple of beers with the girls. My mom got my dad his first set of clubs, so they really grew together playing golf.”
Franzie’s father continued organizing the golf tournament for the next 10 years, before passing the torch to Franzie and his brother Hans. When Franzie opened One Eighty Hunter sports pub in Peterborough, the event officially became the One Eighty Heather & Friends Memorial Golf Tournament and, eventually, the annual tournament was moved to the Quarry Golf Club in Ennismore.
Every year proceeds from the tournament have been donated to the PRHC Foundation to invest in priority cancer care advancements at PRHC. This year, the record-breaking $30,500 that was raised was added to the PRHC Foundation’s $60 million Campaign for PRHC to reimagine healthcare at the regional hospital.
For Franzie, the memory of how his mother had to drive to Toronto during her many years fighting cancer is one of the reasons why it’s so important to support the PRHC Foundation.
“Rather than driving two hours in traffic to Toronto and two hours back when you’re not feeling well, the hospital provides lifesaving treatment at home,” Franzie says. “The most important thing is getting the help we need here in the comfort of Peterborough, so we always want to be keeping the money in town.”
The PRHC Foundation encourages community members inspired by their own PRHC experience, a loved one’s care or who want to memorialize a friend or family member as the Roessl family has done to host a fundraising event that will support the Campaign for PRHC and bring world-class healthcare closer to home.
“Donors that take the time to organize something for a cause that means a lot to them, or honours the memory of someone they love, are going above and beyond to advocate for the hospital,” says PRHC Foundation President and CEO Lesley Heighway. “Third-party events are a great way to see the community rally around the hospital, bringing out new donors to hear the stories that might inspire them to host their own event.”
With organizational support from the PRHC Foundation, community fundraising events can be very personalized. Many are focused on physical activity, like the One Eighty Heather Roessl & Friends Memorial Golf Tournament and the annual HunTer Fondo cycling event organized by the Peterborough Cycling Club.
Other fundraisers are focused on arts and music like the annual Cancer Takedown variety show, while some donors have built and sold bird houses, organized walks or other personal challenges, hosted meals, created online fundraising pages to share their stories, and sponsored fundraisers through their businesses.
“Anyone from ages five to 100 can do an event and, whether it’s a lemonade stand or a concert, every single dollar raised counts,” Heighway notes. “It’s a really wide range, but we want donors to find something that they are personally interested in and see the value in, and then bring like-minded people along for the ride.”
The PRHC Foundation makes it easy for individuals to organize their event by offering a number of supports including providing a customizable online fundraising page, promoting the event, providing donation receipts, and offering grateful patients the chance to tell their story and share the PRHC Foundation’s vision for healthcare at the hospital.
“It makes it hit home for people,” Franzie points out. “It means a lot to me to hear from a speaker before the golfers go out to golf, so they actually understand why this is happening and where the money goes.”
After two and a half decades, the One Eighty Heather Roessl & Friends Memorial Golf Tournament often sells out before Franzie can even advertise the date. He can already see the future of the tournament, having already been passed down a generation from father to sons, as his nephew is just beginning to learn to golf and will likely be on the greens soon. His four-year-old niece is actively involved in the tournament, having become an engaging emcee and 50/50 ticket seller.
“There are a number of factors that make this such a wonderful fundraiser, one being that the tournament has moved between generations, and that PRHC is still so important to the family 25 years later,” says Heighway. “Like for so many families in our region, the hospital becomes essential to each generation.”
Franzie notes that the One Eighty Heather Roessl & Friends Memorial Golf Tournament would not be as successful without the help of the golf club, the sponsors who donate prizes, and the golfers who give to the cause.
“It comes down to people giving back to us and we uphold that by keeping it a fun tournament,” he says. “People are always happy to come out for a fun time, knowing their donations are going into the community.”
While Franzie suspects his father wouldn’t have expected the family to still be running the tournament more than two decades later, he knows his mother would have been very pleased.
“This is keeping her legacy going,” he says. “She’d probably be winning this tournament every year if she was playing in it. She’d be the one having the most fun.”
For more information on organizing third-party events to support the Campaign for PRHC or to make a donation, visit prhcfoundation.ca. You can also find out more about events or volunteering as a campaign ambassador by emailing foundationeventsonline@prhc.on.ca or calling 705-876-5000.
This branded editorial was created in partnership with the Peterborough Regional Health Centre Foundation. If your organization or business is interested in a branded editorial, contact us.
