More than 40 celebrities from sports and entertainment gathered in Wilmington Nov. 7-9 for the 12th annual Willie Stargell Celebrity Golf Tournament, which raised $76,000 to fight kidney disease.
The weekend’s activities drew more celebrity guests than ever before, many of whom personally knew the late Pittsburgh Pirate whose legacy the tournament honors.
The event began Friday when several of the celebrities visited patients undergoing dialysis treatments in the Willie Stargell Kidney Dialysis Unit of New Hanover Regional Medical Center (NHRMC). Tournament president Margaret Stargell said part of the funds raised from the event would likely support the dialysis unit, which already has state-of-the-art dialysis machines.
Retired track and field coach Russ Rogers said visiting the patients made him appreciate his own health and upbringing, factors that put him in a position to help those less fortunate.
“You see people who are more or less disadvantaged and you really appreciate life,” he said. “I try to give back because it was so easy for me, being an athlete. … You make the Olympic team and become the Olympic coach and everything just falls in place, so you just want to make other people around you feel the same.”
Saturday morning from 9-10 a.m., the celebrities signed autographs at Dick’s Sporting Goods in Mayfaire Town Center. The signing was free and open to the public, and event director Michelle Hackman said a line was already forming when she arrived at 8 a.m. to set up.
“It was wonderful. It is the largest crowd we’ve had for the autograph signing,” she said during a Nov. 10 phone interview. “It was our first time doing it at Dick’s Sporting Goods, so it was interesting to see how it was going to work out. Once we opened at 9 a.m. the line went past the Marshall’s front door.”
Courtney Adam, who brought a football for the celebrities to sign, said it was very convenient for people to be able to purchase merchandise in the store and immediately have it signed. In addition to getting the autographs, Adam added, she enjoyed chatting with the players and hearing their stories.
“You get to know the real person,” she said, “not just their TV persona or their stats. They are all hilarious.”
Saturday night, the celebrities and public mingled again at the Country Club of Landfall for the sold-out dinner and auction. Sunday morning, sponsors and celebrity guests played a round of golf, which was won by track and field Olympian Harvey Glance and his teammates from Landfall Park’s Hampton Inn & Suites.
The compassionate spirit of the weekend’s events was embodied by two of the younger celebrity guests, Ma’ake and Chris Kemoeatu. The brothers played for rival NFL teams until Chris Kemoeatu was forced to retire due to kidney disease. Ma’ake’s kidney was found to be a good match for a transplant, so he also retired to donate his kidney to his younger brother.
“This is our first year doing the event,” Ma’ake Kemoeatu said, “and it’s just good for the fans, good to support the [Willie Stargell] Foundation, Willie Stargell’s family, and it’s for a great cause — fighting kidney disease.”
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