Players and sponsors are needed for the first-ever Cadet Thomas Surdyke Memorial Foundation Celebrity Golf Gala & Auction set for Friday, May 27, at Crystal Highlands Golf Course, 3030 Hwy. 61, south of Festus.
Surdyke, a 2015 St. Pius High School graduate who attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, died at age 18 on June 28, 2016, after he suffered heart problems while rescuing a fellow Cadet from drowning in the ocean off the coast of Long Island, N.Y.
Check-in begins at noon, with a shotgun start at 1 p.m. Dinner will be at 6 p.m., awards at 7 p.m. and a silent/live auction at 7:30 p.m.
Entry is $1,000 for a team of four.
Tim Surdyke said the event is intended to celebrate his son’s life and raise funds for the foundation.
The foundation raises funds to provide leadership programs, military character development programs and scholarships to young leaders.
“The foundation provides scholarships at St. Pius High School and other causes, such as Boys State,” Tim Surdyke said. “I want to start a scholarship for a Crystal City, Festus or St. Pius high school student. It will be a $5,000 scholarship.”
Organizers also are seeking donations for the auction, as well as local celebrities to speak at the event.
“I am looking for a particular type of celebrity who can speak to the grit my son Tom showed,” Tim Surdyke said.
He said several speakers already are signed up, including Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen, the superintendent at West Point when his son was there; Col. Daniel Ragsdale of West Point; and some of his son’s friends from West Point.
“We have some of Tom’s St. Pius football coaches from when he played,” his father said.
He said Grady Powell, host of the “Forged in Fire” competition show on the History Channel, will take part in the event, and radio and television personality Jamie Allman will be there as well.
For an additional $500 fee, one of the celebrities at the event will join three other players to form a team.
Tim Surdyke said he hopes the Cadet Thomas Surdyke Memorial Foundation Celebrity Golf Gala & Auction will become a yearly activity.
For more information or to register to play, to buy a sponsorship or to donate an item for the auction, visit cadettom.com.