BVA was again the fortunate beneficiary of proceeds from the Mark Kline Memorial Golf Outing this past July 29 in Norton, Ohio. The event, now six years in the making and still expanding, celebrates the life of a contact lens and spectacle frame sales representative who admired veterans so much that he annually participated in the Rolling Thunder motorcycle ride in memory of all MIAs and POWs. 

Mark Kline’s family and friends, most notably Mark Holaday, Kim Snodgrass, and Rod Snow, organized the annual event in 2018 after his untimely death from a heart attack. The event resulted in an $8,000 donation this year, despite unusually trying weather conditions. There were sizable donations in previous years as well.

“We contended this year with our largest attendance to date but also our first bad weather occurrence in six years as it rained hard several times during the round,” said Mark Holaday. “That impacted our ability to display our auction items, and we lost some attendees after the weather moved in, but those fabulous individuals who did stay supported BVA very nicely.”

The golf tournament has a unique founding and history that have blossomed somewhat miraculously over six years.

“Mark Kline enjoyed golf and the friendships that it creates, so it was logical to have a golf outing in his name,” Rod Snow told the Norton Post Newspaper back in 2018. “Kim Snodgrass and Mark Holaday spoke with Mark’s widow, Terry, and together they agreed that blending golf, optical/vision, and Mark’s respect for veterans made the Blinded Veterans Association the logical beneficiary of the proceeds.”

Sincerely honored by the donation, the BVA Board of Directors expresses a heartfelt thanks for the kindness and support demonstrated by all who have remained affiliated in any way with the Mark Kline Memorial Golf Outing.