A few Canucks tee’d off for a good cause at Tsawwassen Springs.
Canucks’ Assistant Equipment Manager Brian “Red” Hamilton hosted the first Vancouver Melanoma Canada Golf Tournament, a cause very close to his heart.
The tournament launched in Toronto, is also played in Montreal, and now Vancouver.
Hamilton is continuing to bring awareness to melanoma and advocating for early detection. His bravery in putting his story out there, and ultimately going viral, was something he would do again in a heartbeat. Hosting the tournament was another way for him to spread the message and keep the conversation going.
“The biggest thing for me was the number of people that have come up to me – random people eating dinner at a restaurant, on Facebook or LinkedIn – come up to me or write me a message saying ‘thank you, I had a mole and I went and got checked.’ So it makes it easy to find a way to be involved with these kinds of events, how can I stop,” he said.
It never ceases to amaze him how many people are touched by melanoma; the response from sponsors and participants was overwhelming, as were the stories of people affected by the disease. A self-proclaimed behind-the-scenes guy, he’s filled with gratitude for the support he received for the tournament.
“There are some really tough stories too. The Millers, Natalie losing her mom, and the Horton family losing their husband and son. I really appreciate that as difficult as it is, they’re putting themselves out there on days like today because they don’t want a brother, or a mom or a sister going through what they went through.”
Natalie Miller was at the seventh hole volunteering for donations for the Jess and Red Hamilton Fund with the goal of raising $200,000, aiming to have Melanoma Canada’s Mole Mobile in B.C. by 2025. The Mole Mobile will provide skin cancer screening across the province between May and October with the goal of early detection for melanoma and skin cancers. Natalie and J.T. were all-in for the tournament, championing early detection through education.
“This cause means so much to us,” Natalie said. “Awareness is key and it’s something that J.T. and I can do together to honour my mom, raise money for the cause, and have other people be involved learning about the disease.”
J.T. played in the tournament with teammates Brock Boeser, Tyler Myers, and Thatcher Demko. It’s been an important week for the Miller family as Natalie’s mom, Janet, passed away three years ago on September eighth, making their attendance at the tournament even more special.
“To be part of that yesterday was a no-brainer for Natalie and I. It’s hard, Janet was 58 years old, which is entirely too young, but we want to make her life more of a celebration and think about the good times. I’m just trying to be there for my wife every step of the way,” he said.
When Hamilton was going through the stress of biopsy testing and waiting for results, he was always upbeat and never wanted to be a distraction in the dressing room. It’s in Hamilton’s character to take on the responsibility of hosting the event in an effort for families not to have to go through what the Miller’s went through.
“It’s Red’s character to put on something like this, the selflessness and worth ethic of his family to host this tournament is outstanding. I take some credit for being involved, but Natalie’s been a beast when it comes to helping out and investing time in charitable causes,” he said.
J.T. thought the Mole Mobile was “great, it was spot on,” and Natalie is hoping to help bring in enough donations to have it available to residents of B.C. next year – a year earlier than expected.
Donations for the Mole Mobile can be made to the Jess and Red Hamilton Fund here: http://bit.ly/jessandredhamiltonfund.
