Golf tournament serves dual purpose
The eighth annual Dan Fager Memorial golf tournament was held Saturday at San Vicente Country Club.
“Dano” was a 1984 graduate of Ramona High School. After attending Sonoma State University, he and his wife Leslie settled in Petaluma, Calif., where he was a teacher and high school baseball coach. Since his death in 2003, his parents, Dave and Margie Fager of Ramona, have celebrated Dano’s life by holding an annual golf tournament that serves as a fundraiser for his children and also is a great opportunity for his friends and family to get together.
“Danny was a fun, outgoing man who loved to play golf, though he wasn’t very good, and loved to be around his friends and family,” said his father. “This day, for all of us, is a great way to do something that Danny would have loved to be a part of.”
While many of the tournament attendees are local, a number of friends made the trip from other areas. Dano’s high school teammate, Chris Popma, drove from Orange County.
“I’m right in the middle of building a pool in my backyard and had a million things going on, but I wouldn’t miss this weekend for the world,” said Popma. “It’s so great to see all my old high school friends and sit around and talk about good times with Dan.”
Mark James and his family drove to Ramona from their home in Bend, Ore. James has been helping the Fagers with the tournament since the first year.
“This has turned out to be like a yearly class reunion for us,” he said. “Not just the class of ’84, but for people of all ages that knew Danny. We all get together the night before and catch up on our lives. I’m pretty sure that if it wasn’t for the Dano tourney, we would not have an opportunity to do this.”
Leading the travelers in mileage was 1982 RHS graduate Todd Parsely, who lives in the Washington, D.C., area where he works as a research scientist.
“My wife and I have turned this event into the first step of our yearly vacation with the kids,” said Parsely. “After the tournament today, we will head down to Pt. Loma where we rented a house and will spend the rest of the week hanging out on the beach and relaxing. Getting to see a bunch of my old friends is icing on the cake.”
After the tournament, the golfers headed to Ramona Oaks Park, where they enjoyed food, drinks, a live band and the award ceremony. Dave Fager summed it up” “We had a great time as always and are already looking forward to next year.”