Editors Note: Last year we were approached by Jinny Koffler, a young woman who wanted to honor her mother-in-law and raise money for the Hirshberg Foundation. She, along with family and friends, organized the Glenda Jane Koffler Memorial Golf Tournament, held at Sierra Lakes Golf Course in Fontana. They had 43 participants play golf and afterwards 105 people attended a banquet held at Villa Tepeyac Restaurant in West Covina. After the event, we asked her some questions about her experience.
What motivated you to host this event? Our motivation was Glenda Jane Koffler. She was a wonderful wife, mom, grandma, and friend. She passed away on November 30, 2005. She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and lost her battle within one month. She was a larger than life woman who loved her kids and grandkids more than anything. I was lucky to have the most amazing woman as my mother-in-law. We chose a golf tournament because we wanted to get together once a year to have fun and remember a great woman. We also wanted to raise money for pancreatic cancer research.
Why did you choose to have the proceeds go to the Hirshberg Foundation?
We chose the Hirshberg Foundation because of the amazing work they support in finding a cure for pancreatic cancer. Also, the personal story of Agi Hirshberg hit close to home. She lost her husband too early in life, just as my father-in-law had lost my mother-in- law. Agi’s husband, Ron Hirshberg, seemed like someone who enjoyed life to the fullest. That was my mother-in-law.
What were your results? We raised $5000 through the golf tournament, banquet, and raffle tickets. We also received money from people who were not able to come to the tournament or banquet but wanted to donate in Glenda’s memory. We were really surprised at the amount of money we raised. We had set our goal for $2000, so you can only imagine how excited we were when we realized we more than doubled that amount.
How was the overall experience for you as the event host? My friend Chris Zessau and I worked together to make this tournament and banquet happen. Without Chris and many others, it would not have been possible.
What do you think Glenda would have thought about your event? Oh boy, Glenda would have absolutely loved it! Her greatest joy was watching people she loved around her having a great time. She was happy when people were enjoying themselves, drinking some beer and eating lots of good food. She would have been so happy.
Will there be a 2nd Annual Event? We are planning to make this tournament and banquet an annual event. We are already in the works to plan the 2008 Glenda Jane Koffler Memorial Golf Tournament. We hope to double what we made last year!
Is there anything else you want to add? There is one more thing I would like to tell everyone. Just one month after my mother-in-law passed away, I became pregnant. I struggled with secondary infertility for years so we were very surprised. We had a beautiful little girl and her name is Madison Glenda Jane Koffler, named after her nana. And wouldn’t you know it…she looks just like her!