It was a record breaking year for the 8th Annual Nicole Richardson Memorial Golf and Auction Event that was held on July 18th.
Guy Richardson says they raised $33,000, which is the most they’ve ever raised, in memory of his late daughter Nicole Richardson who was a public defender that passed away suddenly in 2006 in Grand Junction, Colorado.
Richardson states that the $33,000 will all be donated to the Iowa Donor Network, the Iowa Public Defender’s Training Program, Iowa Legal Aid and the Nicole Richardson Access to Justice Fund at the Iowa Law School Foundation.
He points out that the first two years, it was held at a golf course by Nicole’s co-workers in Denver, Colorado, but he felt that they could do more with it if it was brought over to Iowa. Since is was moved to Lake Panorama Golf Course in 2008, Richardson says they’ve raised $105,298 in grants that support organ and tissue donation and access to quality legal services.
There were 144 players representing 36 teams for the golf tournament and over 220 people came for the evening meal and auction following the tournament. Plus, Richardson adds that there were 30 volunteers who helped run the entire event.
He’s very appreciative of all the support that he and Nancy Richardson get every year in memory of their daughter.
“We’re very fortunate because we have tremendous participation. It was a decision that we made early on that we wanted to do something to keep her memory alive and at the same time, to do some good in her memory. And we certainly feel like we’ve accomplished that.”
They had 34 hole sponsors and 27 cash sponsors. Nicole donated several organs and some are still alive today due to her donation.
Richardson comments that they’ve also endowed a fund to the law school in Oregon that their daughter went to and it provides at least two scholarships every year to someone who is looking at public defense.
He’s very happy with the amount of money that they are able to give away this year and has his sights set even higher for next year’s event.