Scholarship recipients (left to right): Josh Francis, Connor McCaskill, Claire Jensen, Katie Garner, Madison Baer
Cindy Sterling
On Dec. 29, 2020, several of us were playing golf when Dave Bowles’s brother posted a note on Facebook that Dave had passed away suddenly. Everyone was shocked and so upset that we had lost a great golf instructor and a dear friend. We felt we needed to do something in his memory here at the Ranch. We decorated his instructor’s sign for many weeks, but we felt we could do more.
In early 2021, many golfers questioned what would happen to the Par 3 event that Dave had created. We decided that we could carry on the Par 3 events, and half the money could go to the winners of the event and the other half could be used for a golf scholarship fund in the name of Dave Bowles. This is when the Robson Ranch Scholarship Fund was created. Residents stepped forward to help lead the group. Board members: Connie Griswold, Lee Griswold, Larry Klein, and Cindy Sterling. Educators: Jimmy Burns, Nancy Burns, Ken Cline, and Jan Norton.
The “new” Par 3 events started in March, 2021, with a nine-hole event and 18 four-person teams. In April we added another nine holes and soon grew to 36 teams with 144 participants. In 2022 we added a membership fee of $10 to this exclusive event, and as of today, we have well over 300 members.
On May 25, 2022, we awarded five scholarships totaling $6,000, which was earned during the 2021 Par 3 events, to recipients from two local high schools.
We look forward to awarding many more scholarships in 2023 and thank all the Robson Ranch residents for their participation in the Par 3 events. We are sure Dave would be proud to have his name on scholarships for promising, young golfers.