Faces of the NCGA: The Power of a ‘Hello’

Faces of the NCGA: The Power of a ‘Hello’

March 30, 2021

By Pat Zimmerman

At a recent WGANC Open Day at Butte Creek Country Club, all golfers were out on the course. I was sitting on their patio having a cup of coffee and watching the progress on Golf Genius.

A very nice, older lady walk by and I said, “Good morning”. The woman, an NCGA member named Marilyn Brownfield, proceeded to stop for a chat and told me stories of her 80 something years. Her stories were very interesting and entertaining. She had volunteered to spot on a hole on the back nine for the tournament. After about an hour and a half of visiting, Marilyn bid me farewell and went out to her volunteer position.

The next morning, I received a phone call from my new friend. Marilyn was so appreciative of the time we spent chatting and grateful to make a new friend. She was excited to tell me about her accomplishments, which included her being an artist and an author. She wanted to offer me a gift. She offered to paint a picture of my club and give it to me as a gift to give to the club, use it at an auction or whatever I saw fit. All I had to do was send her a photo of my favorite vantage point.

It turns out that Marilyn has painted many pictures and donated them. She sent me a photo of a painting of Pebble Beach and others. She is very, very good.

She is also a very accomplished author. She told me that her mother suffered from the early stages of dementia, so she wrote a poem and dedicated it to the Alzheimer’s Association. It is a very well written beautiful poem. I also downloaded Marilyn’s book, which is amazing.

Turns out too, Marilyn is helping with the preparations of the 100th birthday party of her good friend and former WGANC Director, Evelyn Hayes.

I am so fortunate to have crossed paths with this amazing person.

All because of a friendly “Good Morning”. You never know where a kind word and a smile can lead.

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