Golfing Fore Good

Conor McGinnis is a teenager on a mission.

McGinnis, a 15-year-old about to enter his sophomore year at Minnetonka High School, has spent the better part of his last two summers focusing on raising money to help find a cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

The disease, one of nine forms of a degenerative neuromuscular affliction that strikes only males, had afflicted a family friend named Nash Avery.

"My dad knew his dad and we had met on vacation," McGinnis said. "He was in a wheelchair and having a very difficult time. I got an idea to start a golf tournament to benefit the fight against his disease."

Last summer, the inaugural "Golf Fore Good" tournament was held at Timber Creek Golf Course in Watertown, where owner Phil Kotula was a willing host.

"We worked it out," McGinnis said. "They have been really great here."

Nine foursomes comprised mostly of classmates of McGinnis', including fellow members of the Minnetonka High School golf team.

The effort raised $966 for the Nash Avery Foundation.

This year, McGinnis found sponsors for the event, including main sponsors Lake Minnetonka Orthodontics, Abbott and Promotion Select,as well as a number of local businesses—including Tino's, Jake O'Connor's and Joey Nova's restaurants—that donated prizes for a raffle.

"We gave him some direction, but he pretty much did it all himself," Shelly McGinnis, Conor's mom, said.

With the sponsorships, this year's version of "Golf Fore Good" was able to raise approximately the same amount of money for the Nash Avery Foundation as last summer in spite of having three fewer foursomes taking part because of scheduling conflicts.

"Figuring we'll raise about as much as last year," Conor McGinnis said. "We have shirts that we'll be continuing to sell also, some people can't golf, but they just want to help out."

For more information on the Nash Avery Foundation, log on to nashaveryfoundation.org. To learn more about the golf fundraiser and how you can help, email Conor McGinnis at mcgman04@gmail.com.