IronMan Of Golf

It was still dark when I pulled out of my driveway at 4:20 on my way to start the IronMan of Golf.  On the way I learned that McDonalds doesn't serve breakfast until 5AM and that there's a line up at Tim Hortons at 4:30.  (Desperate times call for desperate measures...)  I arrived at Olympic View Golf Course at around 4:40 and teed off at 4:55.  The first two rounds were spectacular because there was no one in front of us.  It's the way golf should be played!  Round 1 was complete by 6:55 and Round 2 was done by 9:30.  Round 3 wasn't quite as fast and it just went downhill from there in terms of time. 

I learned some important lessons.  The first was a good reminder that adventures and challenges are always better when they are shared with someone else.  A special thanks to my caddies and drivers, Wally Berndt, Cathy Hallam and Tyler Schindel. 

Success happens when a lot of people work together.  Thanks to our many sponsors, donors and friends who contributed to the financial success of the day.  We are at just over $5500 on the day.  This is what we know of.  Others are pledging after the fact which is fantastic.  If you would like to support this event, click here to make your donation by credit card.  If you prefer to mail a cheque to us, just use our regular mailing address.

Leading Influence Ministries

 626 Blanshard St

Victoria BC   V8W 3G6



The staff at Olympic View was nothing short of incredible.  They cared for every aspect of the day and all I had to do was keep hitting the ball.  By my calculations, I probably had over 500 strokes on the day.  It felt like 1000 by the time I was done ...

You can accomplish more than you think you can if you just put your mind to it.  I hadn't swung a club in 3 years and wondered if I could make it.  By the time I was done, my legs, shoulders and arms were very tired, but I completed the 100.  (Tyler wanted to do another round but after a short snack, dad was ready to call it a day....)

I believe in generosity.  I started with 120 golf balls.  I came home with 40....  There are 80 balls out there somewhere just waiting to be found.

Remarkably, I only lost 3 to the water and just two went into the sand.  The rest are just scattered in the trees.  If you play OV, happy hunting! 

I scored 15 pars on the day.  That might sound impressive (and it would be if I only played 18 holes....)  At 5.5 rounds, it's not nearly that exciting!

For those of you who are wondering how I feel, let me testify to the medicinal qualities of A535, Advil and some very warm baths.  All in all, it hasn't been as bad as I thought, but I know that I did it.... 

Thanks again to everyone who helped make this happen! 

And In Other News...

I was in Vancouver for Game 7.  We were in the large crowd about 1/2 a block from where the riots started.  We left early and stayed up late watching the news and listening to the police helicopters. It's a sad moment for Vancouver.  Call in shows, TV experts and the print media had a single focus all day Thursday and they missed the real story.  Hooligans and anarchists saw and seized an opportunity to exploit the situation.  They counted on a mob mentality taking over.  They hoped correctly and got their desired result.  They rioted for 6 hours until police got the situation under control. 

The collective hand wringing, apologizing and prognosticating of Vancouverites and Canadians at large has now gone on for well over 24 hours.  We are embarrassed, humiliated, etc, etc by the actions of a relative handful of trouble makers.  In true Canadian fashion we will probe what has gone wrong with society, how this could happen and what should be done about it. 

Lost in the shuffle are the heroes in Vancouver. Hundreds of police officers showed tremendous restraint in dealing with the rioters.  Hundreds of Vancouverites volunteered, organized and came downtown to serve their city and assist in the clean up.  My son and I drove through the area on Thursday morning.  The street were clean.  Windows were boarded up and people were orderly, calm and sweeping and cleaning.  As we got to the Bay Store that was looted, people had begun to write thank you notes on the wood to those who had stepped up to keep things from getting worse.  It's now called 'The Citizen Wall'.  Click the link to see what people have written.  Last night, a police officer left his vehicle unattended only to return to see his car surrounded by a crowd of people.  Fearing the worst, he was relieved and delighted to see his cruiser covered with sticky notes expressing words of thanksgiving and appreciation. 

The Vancouver media could do the city a huge favour by shifting their focus solely to the actions of the heroes.  The world needs to hear about the great people of Vancouver who refuse to be defined by the violent actions of a few.  Use your influence to celebrate the spirit of volunteerism that didn't need a committee to respond to an obvious need.  Send the message that represents the true spirit of your great city.

Oh yeah... and Go Canucks!  (from a Blackhawks fan who thinks you can do it next year...)

Spring Session Ends

The Spring Session ended last week.  The media says it was 24 days long. It has been a very unique session.  Both parties have new leaders so in many ways it's a brand new day.  There are new voices, new ideas and new approaches and at least one new member (Premier Christy Clark) who seemed fairly excited to take her seat last Monday.  I confess that I keep waiting for her to say something like 'We'll be right back after this break....' during QP, but I don't think it's likely to happen.

I've learned some new words this session.  My favourite is 'jiggery pokery'.  My friend MLA Bill Routley (Member for Cowichan and aka 'The Silver Streak' or 'Brother Bill') used it liberally in his speech on the HST just before the government invoked closure.  I've never heard the expression before, but it sounds very good when used in an impassioned speech accompanied by the waving of arms.

This has been a good session in terms of ministry fruitfulness.  As I reported several weeks ago, we had 23 MLA's come to our annual Prayer Breakfast.  This was our best response to date. It's a reflection of 4 years of full time ministry to MLA's.  We have become known, trusted, respected and most importantly, deemed to be 'safe'.  It's an important milestone for us and puts us in a unique place in the lives of leaders.  The response to the Prayer Breakfast is indicative of the growth we are seeing behind the scenes.  Doors continue to open for us into the lives of our elected leaders.  It's quite exciting to see what God is doing.

We have some important plans for the summer. We've built some important bridges and we want to expand on that through the summer months by visiting as many MLA's as possible this summer through personal visits and contact. At present I have trips planned to Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and the Okanagan.  I'm hoping for one more trip to the Cariboo as well.  It's going to be a full and busy summer. 

Travel is always costly and it is especially costly in the summer.  In order to provide for that budget, we are holding our first ever 'IronMan of Golf' on June 22.  Starting at 4:45 AM, Tim will play 100 holes of golf on a single day.  You can sponsor Tim on a per hole basis or on a event sponsorship level.  You can support the event by clicking here or by contacting our office directly.