Published: July 09, 2009 12:33 am      

Lipsey Memorial Golf Tournament to tee off

The Britney Lipsey Memorial Scholorship Golf Tournament will take place at 1 p.m. Friday at the Webb Hill Country Club near Wolfe City.

Each team will consist of six players, with a fee of $75 per person. This includes a t-shirt, golf balls, and a barbecue meal.

After the tourney, there will be an auction, door prizes, and prizes presented for longest drive and closest to the pin. All proceeds will fund a scholorship in honor and memory of Britney Lipsey.

“It’s a great way to raise money and get people to have fun,” said Britney’s father, Mike Lipsey. “Britney liked to have fun and she liked to golf.”

Britney Lipsey’s parents — Mike Lipsey and Jessica Morrow, along with her stepparents — said they were stunned by the generosity shown by the people who were effected by their 20 year old daughter’s death.

“It’ll be three years since we lost her this year,” said Morrow. “The funeral was so large, there were 1,200 people there. We had to tell people no more flowers.”

Flowers weren’t the only thing the family received. They also benefited from approximately $7,000 in monetary donations.

“We set up the fund right then,” said Morrow. “ Britney was high-spirited. Everybody knew her. The scholarship keeps her spirit alive because it’s for a good cause.”

Britney’s life had been full of activities. In high school she was a cheerleader, Miss CHS, a Football Sweetheart, and played on the golf team. She went to college at Texas A&M-Commerce, where she was a Phi Cappa Alpha Dream Girl. She also worked as a lifeguard.

The first person to receive the Lipsey scholorship was a boy who lived in their neighborhood and played golf with Britney in high school.

“The scholorships go to people who had personal relationships with Britney,” explained Morrow. “Every year we choose the person who’s had the most ties with her. Someone she knew personally and we also know their family struggles financially. A lot of kids want to go to college, but have problems because their family is poor and they can’t get scholorhips. There’s a lot of kids who can really become something and don’t have the money to do it.”

Last year’s scholorship recipient was Kassidy Hubbard. His older sister had been Britney’s best friend in high school. When she died, he decided to become a lifeguard in her honor.

“She inspired him,” said Morrow. “He was literally crying when he recieved the scholorship. It wasn’t the money, it was just having her award. He said it was really an honor.”

This year the Lipsey Scholorship fund was depleted. The family put their heads together and came up with the idea of the golf tourney.

“We thank everybody who’s helping sponsor this and everyone who’s playing in the tournament,” said Lipsey. “I hope people come out and have some fun.”