Golf and Charity Work Go Hand in Hand

by: Nancy Fischer and Johnelle Rodriguez

The Men of Good Shepherd Catholic Church (MOGS) hosted its 23rdAnnual MOGS Open Golf Tournament on May 14, 2018, in Tallahassee, FL. Once again, Professional Process Servers & Investigators, Inc. was invited to participate as a sponsor. Bob Fischer, president of Professional Process Servers & Investigators, Inc., is an avid golfer and happily agreed to join the tournament and sponsor a hole for this worthy cause.

I, Nancy, am Bob’s wife and the vice president of the company. Bob and I drove up to Tallahassee that weekend and spent time with our good friends, Mike and Linda Nolan, who are the owners of Nolan Process Servers. We got to Tallahassee on Friday, a seven-hour drive, and were excited to see our friends of almost 30 years.

It was predicted that it would rain on Monday morning, so Mike, the event’s chairman, was a little apprehensive. He didn’t want the event to be a flop after all the effort he’d put into it. We prayed the entire weekend that the weather would remain clear, and at each meal’s grace-saying, this became a semi-joke. We were sure God listened to us with a smile. And to our surprise, when Monday arrived, the weather was a bit cloudy, but there was not a single drop of rain the entire day! It poured down in the evening, but at that point, we didn’t care.

The golf tournament was held at the prestigious Golden Eagle Country Club, located in the northeastern section of Tallahassee. The multi-million-dollar homes we observed on the way in from the gate told us this golf course was well cared for. We all got there early to set up and lay out the tables for the silent auction.

Mike collected a fine array of merchandise and gift certificates for the silent auction and raffle. Some of the items presented were autographed footballs, for instance, one from former QB and Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward, and others from notables like current FSU coach Willie Taggard and former FSU coach Bobby Bowden. Additionally, there were two signed baseballs from current FSU coach Mike Martin, who has the highest winning record. To cater to the ladies, there were items such as a tiger eye necklace made by a local jeweler, Massage Envy gift certificates, gift baskets from a local hair salon, and unisex gift certificates for a local high-end car wash service and for a few restaurants.

Professional Process Servers & Investigators, Inc. donated $99.00 to sponsor the “Longest Drive Hole.” Bob won the silent auction on a Seiko watch and an 8 x 10 picture frame from a door prize ticket.

Other ladies from the Good Shepherd Catholic Church group called Wings also volunteered their time to help Linda and I register the golfers and sell them mulligans. To clarify, for non-golfers, mulligans are basically “do-overs” on shots. Each golfer was able to buy two mulligans for a donation of $10.00, and many did just that. They then received goodie bags, which were nice golf shoe bags, as a “thank you” for participating in the tournament.

There were 16 teams with four players on each team. Mostly men played. However, there was a handful of women who participated. Tee off was at 1:00 p.m., and all but three players were on time.

Everyone enjoyed themselves thoroughly, and this was evident when they all arrived back at the clubhouse at 5:00 p.m., laughing and joking. We had our evening meal at the clubhouse restaurant. It was deliciously catered by the golf club. The buffet line included delectable dishes such as pulled pork, fried chicken, corn on the cob, baked beans, coleslaw, and, of course, desserts like brownies and cookies. For refreshments, there was a cash bar along with iced tea and water.

After dinner, the golfers were awarded their trophies for categories like “Longest Drive,” “Closest Ball to the Hole,” “Best Score,” and so on.

Bob and Mike’s team didn’t receive any trophies. However, they came in fourth place out of 16 teams, which is an accomplishment in itself. Bob was upset he didn’t get the Longest Drive award, as he is usually an excellent long-distance driver off the tee. To his disadvantage, a tree jumped out right in front of him. Last year, he won in the Closest Ball to the Hole category, and he still proudly displays this trophy.

Bob was pleased with winning the Seiko watch in the silent auction, though, and that made up for the disappointment with the tree incident.

We all went home after the prizes were awarded and agreed to do it all over again next year. The following day, we packed our bags and said our goodbyes and drove back home to South Florida. We laughed with God again because we drove out of Tallahassee in the rain.

This was fine because we were still able to spend time with our best friends, we laughed, we played, and we felt like we did something good for the church and for the community.



We look forward to participating again next year. Not only was it a fun event, but it was a worthy cause for Good Shepherd Catholic Church. Thank you, Mike and Linda Nolan, for inviting us. And great job pulling this all together, Mike. You gave it all you had, as you always do. See you all next year!