Roanoke Times Article about the Jarrett Lane Memorial Golf Tournament
Today the Roanoke Times published an article about the Jarrett Lane Memorial Fund, and the upcoming golf tournament that will support the fund. It’s a great article that touches on how we want to use the memorial fund to better the lives of youth in Giles County.
Golf event to raise money for Jarrett Lee Lane Memorial Fund
Saturday sees the first Jarrett Lane Memorial Golf Tournament held in honor of the student from Narrows.
When her children were little, Tracey Lane had to work overtime so she could afford to send them to 4-H camp and out-of-town sports and leadership programs. The single mom was determined to give her children a window into the world beyond their small Narrows town.
So when it came time to design the Jarrett Lee Lane Memorial Fund in honor of her son, killed in the April 16, 2007, shootings at Virginia Tech, she and her daughters decided to help other parents of needy but promising area youths to do the same.
The inaugural Jarrett Lane Memorial Golf Tournament will be held Saturday at Castle Rock Golf & Recreation in Pembroke to raise money for the fund.
Summer camps, sports and Boys State leadership programs played a huge role in shaping Jarrett Lane’s character. “I remember 4-H Camp especially, that was a key thing in the beginning that opened Jarrett’s eyes to the possibilities of life outside of our small town,” his sister Alicia Lane-Farrell said.
Lane, the valedictorian of his Narrows High School class, was less than a month away from earning his engineering degree when he and 31 other students and faculty members were killed.
He was known for his fun-loving and generous spirit, his intellectual curiosity and his willingness to play pick-up sports — any sport — any time, any place. He kept a variety of balls in the trunk of his car just in case an opportunity arose and, as a child, once dug holes in his mom’s back yard to practice golf putting. When she complained, he blamed the holes on the dog.
While two other scholarships have been established in his name — one by his Narrows class, the other by his Governor’s School class — the Jarrett Lee Lane Memorial Fund is operated by his family.
Lane’s friends from Narrows and Virginia Tech are expected to attend the event, along with his family. Nongolfers are encouraged to participate by playing Captain’s Choice style, allowing all team members to play off the best team shot.
Lane-Farrell views the event not only as a conduit for remembering her younger brother but also as a continuation of his legacy. “He only got to the 22-year mark, and now our goal is to keep his story alive so we can continue his legacy by helping others,” she said.
The registration fee for teams of four is $300 per team, and teams can register by calling the golf course before Friday at 626-7276. Cash prizes will be awarded to the winning team, and a cookout is expected to take place after the tournament about 1 p.m.
For more information on the memorial fund, e-mail Lane-Farrell at alicia@aliciafarrell .com or go to JarrettLane.us
Contributions to the fund may be mailed to: Jarrett Lane Memorial Fund, c/o Celco Federal Credit Union, P.O. Box 361, Narrows, VA 24124.
(Thanks to Beth Macy at the Roanoke Times who has done a wonderful job at sharing Jarrett’s story.)
