Murray Company’s (28th) Annual SoCal Golf Tournament, now officially renamed the Kevan J. Steffey Memorial Golf Tournament, took place on Thursday, September 19th at Industry Hills Golf Club. For the obvious reasons, this year’s charity event was extra special, attracting some of Murray Company’s most VIP clients, eager employees, and enthusiastic supporters/sponsors, not to mention a small army of dear friends and family of our beloved Kevan J. Steffey.
Volunteers welcomed guests with a smile, sold raffle tickets and helped orchestrate a flawless start to the day. The giveaways were especially nice from Straight Down vests, to Titleist hats and visors, golf balls and gloves, Olukai sandals and aviators sunglasses; all gently hinting to a theme and items that reminded us of Kevan, his habits, hobbies and passions.
Around 100 clients, nearly 80 sponsors and 90+ employees came out to play and support these charity efforts. Operations Manager Derek Fett orchestrated vendor participation on a few holes, affording some additional attractions for the golfers. Milwaukee Tool set up shop with their fancy tools on display while sponsoring a $1,000 putting contest. West Coast Firestopping, American Standard/Lixil, Pace, Mega Western Sales, Ferguson, Tri-Star and Delco Sales all hosted on-course, fun and interactive activities.
The day commenced with a special tee-off ceremony orchestrated by Kevan’s son Jason Carner, and his son’s Landon and Hayden. The unexpected September morning rain didn’t derail these plans, in fact, it added to a good story. Kevan was watching and planned for a nice, cool day in place of the usual near-100 degree temps this time of year.
Be sure to check out all the event photos below but here are some event highlights….
Kevan J. Steffey Tournament Pictures 2024
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Retiree Phil Keeny, Nathan Keeny and Jon Loynes mingle at check-in. Middle: Volunteers Chanseada Phu, Kristen Steffey and Michele Madison sell tickets at the charity raffle table. Bottom: Tyler Vanderelst and John Vanderelst score with a new pair of Olukai sandals.
Alex Villegas, Joe Camacho and Juan Zelada strike a post in their MC branded Loudmouth shorts. The embroidered elements on the back right leg were inspired by graphics on Kevan Steffey’s plane.
MC’s Jordan Smith, Tom Johnson and Pat Reed mingle at the breakfast hour. Middle: Hayden Carner shakes hands with Jim DeFlavio after the tee off ceremony. Bottom: Rita Steffey, Betty Carner, sisters Kelly Steffey * Katie Vest * Kristen Steffey, Landon Carner, Jason Carner and Hayden Carner with little Addie and Isabelle.
Top left: Allan Aguilar with David Richeal from Ferguson, an event sponsor. Top Right: Andy Johnson golfs with HP’s Damon Mann. Bottom: Virginia Brown enjoys her coffee with Allen Lynn from McCarthy.
Top: AECOM’s Bryan Carlander, Ryan Halbersma and Pete Shin are paired with PM Casey Lanham. Middle: Matthew Prado, Eric Speik, Tyler Vanderelst and Tino Franco feel patriotic. Bottom: MC Board Member and Retiree John Odom, Dan Oehler, Steve Dickson and Wayne Lindholm – Kevan Steffey’s besties.
Above: Sean O’Mara from Hensel Phelps, Guy Clendenin of Miller Environmental, Dustin Hansen from Garney Construction and MC’s David Chorak enjoy a round of golf.
Course of play was quick – 5 hours start to finish. The cocktail hour set the tone for a memorable dinner and awards ceremony at which President/CEO Jim DeFlavio shared some sentiments and short stories about Kevan, he thanked our generous sponsors and volunteers. Jim invited Rita Steffey to the stage who spoke about her journey with cancer and expressed immense gratitude to Murray Company for selecting City of Hope and Dr. Lily Lau Lai’s “Light for Life” research program as this year’s tournament beneficiary. Dr. Lily Lai Lau made a guest appearance too, expressing her gratitude for the $112,820 donation check from Murray Company benefiting her research program, coupled with her admiration of the love and support Murray Company has for not only Kevan and Rita, but for one another and the industry as a whole.
Derek Fett recognized all of this year’s generous sponsors (see below) and presented each company representative with a custom Murray Company suede trave/duffle bag (branded, of course on the exterior and lined with little MC logos on the interior.
Executive VP of Business Development, Donny Odom, hosted the door prize raffle with everyone anxiously awaiting their name to be called for a big screen TV, electric bike, Yeti cooler or any one of the many amazing prizes donated by our sponsors. The highly anticipated $5,000 gift card to Terranea Resort (the charity prize) was won by a lucky vendor from Texas.
Top: Derek Fett invites the event sponsors to the stage; each is presented with a custom MC travel bag. Middle: Jim DeFlavio, Donny Odom and Derek Fett along with Dr. Lily Lau Lai and Rita Steffey showcase the $112K donation check to City of Hope’s “Light for Life” Research Program.
Top Right: First place Babe Course – Carlos Valerio of Superior Duct, Matthew Bailey of Norman Wright, Zach Anziano from Henderson Engineers and MC’s Matt Doty. Top Left: Karen Odom wins the Women’s Longest Drive. Bottom: The Ike Course First Place Team – Landon Carner, James Carner, Hayden Carner and Richard Reed.
One Reply to “Kevan J. Steffey Memorial Golf Tournament Welcomed Hundreds of Guests, Rain, Tears, Laughs, Sunshine and a $112,000 Donation Check to City of Hope”
Good job Marta!