Bernice E. Holland golf tournament VIP party in Colorado benefits

Almost a million dollars has been raised for colon cancer research during the nine years Rick Holland has hosted the Bernice E. Holland Golf Tournament.

The event was started to honor Holland's mother, who died during 1999 of colon cancer. Participants raised $65,000 this year.

"Many here have been personally impacted by family members with colon cancer, the second most deadly cancer with 200,000 diagnosed each year and 50,000 deaths" Holland told guests at the VIP party at the Cheyenne Mountain Conference Resort on June 8, before the next day's golf tournament.

Holland said he chose the TGen Colon Cancer Research Program in Phoenix to receive the money to further its research targeting drugs to an individual's specific genetic structure.

"We don't want anyone to be told their loved one has no hope," he said.

The ongoing genomics project is headed by Dr. Galen Hostetter. With a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms that cause cell growth in colon cancer, Hostetter's research identifies novel targets for therapeutic intervention of colon cancer, said Michael Bashoff of the TGen Foundation.

"Your world is going to be personalized medicine," Bashoff said. "It's a numbers game. If you can see the data, you can see the conclusion."

Guests enjoying cocktails and hors d'oeuvres as they mingled and perused the silent auction items were Rick Holland's son, Todd, and his wife, Kelly; daughter, Tamara Austin, and her husband, Mark; sister, Carol Jones, and her husband, Roger; Jerry and Aletha Mayes; John and Sue Olive; Ann Pasque; Olympian Wes Barnett; Scott Barnard; Patsy Buchwald; Robert Greyer; Ray Newbold, Tad Goodenhour; Tim Loyd; Scott and Sherry Porter; and Dawna Dwyer.

Bidding was spirited for the live auction items, which included a guitar autographed by Metallica; a guitar autographed by Alice Cooper and Blue Oyster Cult; a basketball autographed by the 2007 Denver Nuggets; a U.S. Senior Open golf package; a Dell laptop computer; and a golf package for four at the Westin La Paloma Spa and Resort in Tucson.

Playing in the tournament this year at Cheyenne Mountain Resort were 112 golfers. The winning team from Van Gilder Insurance included Andy Cobb, Don Miller, Tom Bradford and Gary Kephart.

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