When people look at a headstone, they see the birthdate and the date of death, but they forget the most important thing—the dash in the middle.
That was the sentiment shared when the Buster Chandler Foundation honored “the dash” of Chandler Cabinets founder Clarence Ray “Buster” Chandler with the second annual Buster Chandler Foundation Charity Golf Tournament on June 20.
The event hosted at the Bridges Golf Club in Gunter saw hundreds of supporters from around the Dallas-Fort Worth Area come together to play 18 holes of golf and various mini games and to continue Buster’s tradition of giving.
“It was just incredible,” Chandler Cabinets CEO Josh Chandler said. “My heart is full with the amount of people here to support my dad's legacy. We couldn't ask for anything better than this. Dad would be very proud, and I know he's looking down right now and smiling at us for sure.”
The tournament had 37 teams and raised nearly $80,000 in charitable donations that will go toward continuing Buster’s legacy of giving to the Pilot Point community.
“It's just overwhelming because he would be so happy,” Vickie Chandler, Buster’s wife, said. “He loved giving back to the police department, the fire department and the military, but giving to the kids meant more to him than anything, so when I saw everyone here, I wanted to cry. They're so sweet. We couldn't ask for better friends.”
One of the Chandler Family friends, Point-Bank’s commercial lender Greg Pelzel shared the joy he felt during the tournament.
“We had a wonderful day,” he said. “We want to thank Vickie, Coby, Josh, Teresa and all of the Chandler family for throwing such a wonderful event. It was very smoothly run, the golfing was great, and it also helps take care of people in the community and the surrounding area. Thank you to the Chandlers once again.”
Chandler Cabinets’ Team Jack—Crew Chandler, Dawson David, Zander Zafar and Jack Jungles— walked away with this year’s crown.
“We came out here confi dent, and we played like it,” David said. '… Crew and I grew up together, so I knew Buster well, and it means a lot to come out here and win the tournament.”
Crew, Buster’s grandson, said winning the tour-
Martin Edwards/The Post-Signal nament was extra special for him and his teammates.
“It means a lot to us, just knowing what he left for our family,” Crew said. “He played a big role and started this company from the ground up, and we're carrying on his legacy, so it means a lot having everyone out here for him. Everyone here knew how much of an impact he made in the community, and it's just nice to see everybody come here and show their support.”
The team of Tim Corbett, Katie Zuidema, Johnny Mac Smotherman and Harold Siddiqui won the award for placing last at the tournament.
Eric Knight of C4 Enterprises won the tournament’s putting contest, while Travis Weaver of Yale Law Group won the award for the longest drive.
Austin Reed from Chandler Cabinets’ Team Austin won the award for the best shot with the Golf Tournament Solutions’ air-powered golf cannon.
Maggie Cavin won the Best Swing award, and Jonathan Teague of Service Lloyds Insurance won the award for getting the closest to the pin.
Chandler Cabinets COO Coby Chandler said he and his family were grateful for the show of support from the Pilot Point community.
“We all grew up here, and we want to give back to Pilot Point every chance we get, so for everyone to reach out and help us with this golf tournament means everything,” he said. “We had people calling us saying, ‘Do you have room for any more teams available?’ and we had to tell them we were full this year, but it's a good thing to have that type of turnout. … This is something we want to carry on for years to come.”
Both Josh and Coby made sure to share their appreciation for the mastermind of the tournament, Chandler Cabinets CFO Teresa Hubert.
“Honestly, the most important person in our organization is Teresa,” Josh said. “This was all Teresa; without her, this doesn't happen.”
Coby added to his brother’s sentiments about Teresa and everyone else that helped behind the scenes.
“She really heads this every year, and she'll start next week, getting sponsors lined up again,” he said. “We start putting everything together a year in advance, but we also want to thank every one of the sponsors that were just so willing to give and the volunteers that were excited to come out and to be a part of it; it means a ton to us.”
Chandler Cabinets would like to thank the Bridges Golf Club and their staff; Rusty Adams with 3B Upfi t; Ronny Gregory with Holiday Chevrolet of Whitesboro; Greg Pelzel with Point-Bank; Ronda Robinson, owner of Signal Sign; Harold Siddiqui with ERP Gold; Johnny Mac Smothermon, who made a $1,000 donation; Kerrie with Advantage Hole in One; Erik with Golf Cart Solutions; Katie, Dani, Robert, Jodi & staff with Tenders Smokehouse; Ladd and Cody with GTS Golf Cannon; Jason with DFW Party Rentals and volunteers— Adrian, Rosbel, Gabriel, Cam, Maggie, Jodi, Cassidy, Chris Carr, Cassandra, Chris M., Megan, Tabitha, Brad, Kelly, Marcus, Farmer, Tim, Kim, V, Dawnyel, Laura, Garett, Randy, Bryan, Adam, Leticia, Rocky, Vickie, Stella and Gina.
One of those volunteers, Chandler Cabinets Project Manager Rocky Marshall, summed up why he was driven to participate.
“It means so much to me it's hard to put in words,” he said. “For me, it's a small chance to give back to Buster. Buster gave us everything, and he continues to give, so for us to come out and be able to give a little bit of our time and energy in return and show everybody a smile and a good time, that makes it all worth it.”
