Member Communication & News
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Memorial for Grayling golfers unveiled at country club
by Jamie Innis
Posted: 06.13.2014 at 11:56 PMhttp://www.upnorthlive.com/news/story.aspx?id=1057894#.VE73BjJAKFU
CRAWFORD CO. -- It's been more than a year since the car crash that killed Grayling golf team coach Jason Potter and student Louis Menard.
Friday night, community members came out to support the team as a special tribute was unveiled at the Grayling Country Club.
A memorial patio with a fireplace and engraved bricks was dedicated to the golf team and the community.
At the event tonight, the five students involved in the crash, as well as the family of Louis Menard, were given scholarships from the golf recovery fund.
Where the memorial is situated was Potter's favorite spot on the golf course. “It was a perfect spot right off the 18th green,” said Chet Wheeler, Grayling assistant golf coach and close friend of Potter. “[It’s] somewhere where we can watch golfers come and tell stories, maybe tell a little lie about how our golf round went and just enjoy the campfire.”
Plans for the Grayling golf tribute project started just a week after the accident on April 29, 2013.
Family of those who were killed and the boys who were injured are grateful for the memorial.
“It means more than words can say,” said Jayme Potter, Jason Potter’s sister. “You will find me here often. You will find me here relaxing and talking about my brother. It's not something I hide. Everybody knows what happened. We continue to stay strong for each other and that's what he would want.”
“I don't know that there's a way to express that,” said Jake Hinkle who was seriously injured in the crash. “Knowing that you almost lost her life and there’s all of these people here trying to comfort you, it's truly a crazy experience to go through.”
Engraved bricks line the patio with heartfelt messages. A fire spreads the warm wishes.
The Grayling golf roster from 2013 is flanked by boulders honoring Jason Potter, 28, and Louis Menard, 18.
“I just wish that my other team mate and my coach could be here,” said Tyler Summers who was injured in the crash.
“I'm just thankful to be here.”
“It's a sad day and a triumphant day. Obviously, there are so many emotions wrapped up in this.
When you see [the students], they will cry, they will laugh, and smile. For me, I
just like to see their reaction,” said Wheeler.
The memorial isn't just for country club members.
“We did it for Jason. We did it for Louis. We did it for the boy’s golf team. It's for them and their families. It's for the whole community who stood by all of them last year while some of the boys were still in the hospital. It's a time for them to come together to share stories,” said Wheeler. -
Jake Hinkle brings his Grayling-strong game to boys golf state finals one year after horrific car crash
Published: Jun. 06, 2014, 8:24 a.m.
GRAYLING, MI – His irons are accurate and his putting is pure.
But what got Jake Hinkle to the Division 3 boys golf state finals was sheer resolve.
And that part of his game is Grayling strong.
Driven by the inspiration of his team and the support of his community — and spirited by the memory of two fallen friends — Hinkle heads to The Meadows at Grand Valley State University as an individual state qualifier, adding another remarkable chapter to the Grayling High School golf team’s saga of celebration and sorrow.
“Obviously, it’s going to be a little emotional and humbling to be there, knowing where we all were a year ago,” he said. “When I think about how I got here, it’s hard to believe.”
It took his strong game, strong resolve and a bit of mighty powerful magic to happen.
The date of April 29, 2013, may forever remain in infamy around Grayling, the day that a horrific car crash claimed the lives of golf coach Jason Potter and golfer Louis Menard and left five other members of the Grayling golf team severely injured.
Hinkle suffered a traumatic brain injury and a shattered femur and spent four days fighting for his life in a coma. So the fact that he’s teeing it up among the state's finest players Friday and Saturday classifies as a triumph-over-tragedy event.
“I’m so excited for him and so emotional, there’s a gurgle in my throat every time I think about it,” said Jody Hinkle of her son’s state-tournament trip.
"Our goal for him last May was that he would wake up in the morning and know what city he was in, or that maybe he could hop 25 feet with a walker. That was one year ago."
Jake Hinkle leaves Munson Medical Center in Traverse City on May 6, 2013 as part of his recovery from injuries suffered in the April 29 car crash.
The Grayling golf team’s story captivated the state, as golf teams throughout Michigan donned green and white — the school’s colors — and wore ribbons and wristbands to honor the Vikings. Cards and letters flooded into the northern Michigan school from high schools across the country as a “Grayling Strong” movement gained force.
A vigil held at the team’s home course at Grayling Country Club was attended by more than 1,000 people. Signs proclaiming “Grayling Supports” and wristbands bearing “Grayling Strong” swept across the Crawford County town of 1,800, and scholarship and memorial funds were launched as the community rallied to support its own.
“I think more than half the city of Grayling has a wristband on,” said Hinkle, who just completed his junior year at GHS. “I’ll drive by people I don’t even know and they’ll have a Grayling golf sign on their car. It’s amazing.”
The community had plenty to celebrate as, one-by-one, injured golfers Mason Krey, Gunner Metzer, Dallas Johnson, Tyler Summers and Hinkle healed enough to come home from the hospital. And it didn’t take long for Hinkle to get back on the course.
“I had a rod in my leg and I could barely walk, but I had to get out there and play,” said Hinkle, who was aided by Grayling’s new mother-and-son golf coaches Beth and Chet Wheeler. “Chet would hang on to me when I walked, and my mom would hold me up so I wouldn’t fall over on chip shots.
“But I love golf. There’s no other place I’d rather be than on that course.”
Hinkle played last summer in a Traverse City junior league, riding in a cart while his shattered leg — sporting a metal plate and 14 screws — continued to heal. When the high school golf season rolled around this spring, he said he was curious to see how many would turn out.
A whopping 26 players joined the squad, including all four returning players who were in the accident.
“It was definitely a tough decision for a few of the guys,” Hinkle said. “They knew it would be tough, but they knew they wanted to play.”
Together, Hinkle, Summers, Metzer and Johnson — along with Joey Greenway and James Piper — helped the Grayling golf team move forward. The season began with the same Traverse City tournament they were heading to on that fateful day in 2013, and coaches and parents kept a close eye on how the boys would react.
“We let them know right from the start, if they felt uncomfortable about anything, we understand,” said coach Beth Wheeler.
“The boys have been so resilient. When you think about where we were a year ago, who would have thought these four boys would be back out there and doing what they’re doing? They amaze me, they really do.”
Not only did the boys get back in the game, they came to play. The Vikings stunned just about everybody in the district tournament by firing a team total of 354 at Manistee National, good for a third-place finish and a berth in the regional. They came back and nearly did it again, placing fourth at Farwell’s Eagle Glen to narrowly miss out on a team trip to the state finals.
Hinkle made certain Grayling golf would be represented at the championships, carding a round of 78 that was good for fifth overall and an invite to The Meadows. But the celebration came with a tinge of sorrow, one of the new realities for the Grayling golfers who must go on without two good friends.
“It’s hard to think about, and being (at the finals) will bring all those things back. So it’s going to be enjoyable but sad at the same time,” Hinkle said. “For everybody on the team, the whole season was that way. Jason and Louis are always on everybody’s minds.”
But with his presence at the Division 3 championships — carrying the Grayling golf banner — Hinkle is giving his Grayling-strong community another moment to savor amid the sadness.
“It means so much to everybody that Jake is going to states. It brings tears to my eyes when I think about it,” Wheeler said. “It’s really a message to everybody about how far we’ve come.
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