He’s no longer in the building where he treated patients for years. And he’s no longer part of the urgent care business that many consider him to be the pioneer of in this region.

 

Yet, there’s one thing that has remained the same for Kelly Nelson who recently returned to private practice after years of running the Medbrook Medical facility before handling duties when it became MedExpress. And that’s that the Medbrook Children’s Charity and the annual Charity Golf Classic will continue.

 

“If this tournament and the charity was the only thing to ever come out of the work we did at the building on Johnson Avenue, all of those years would have been worth it,” said Nelson. “I never dreamed when I started at Medbrook that we’d start this charity and we could get the impact from it we’ve had through the years.”

 

How much of an impact? A pretty sizable impact if you measure an events charitable reach easily exceeding $1 million.

 

And the Golf Classic that is the cornerstone of the charity’s fundraising is set to take place at the Pete Dye Golf Club this coming Monday. Nelson said he has no hesitation saying the 15^th annual event will produce more than $100,000 – of which a little more than 90 percent goes to charity with the rest covering costs for the Classic.

 

Of course, it’s easy to have a successful golf tournament when you have 188 golfers participating and nearly three dozen more on a waiting list. Considering most tournaments believe it’s a large field when you get near 125, you can see the popularity of what Nelson is offering.

 

“They don’t mind being there and they know it’s a little longer of a day,” said Nelson. “Because of that, we try to fill their time with a unique experience and we emphasize the cause we support.”

The cause is primarily the Harrison County Board of Education. Nearly half of the funds raised go to help needy children in the school system. Additional funds go to the Harrison County Nurse’s Discretionary Fund and other dollars go schools throughout the county to cover a multitude of needs.

 

For a chance to help with that, Nelson said teams are willing to pay $3,000 to participate. Individuals pay up to $500 for a chance.

 

“Those that participate know that’s more than an average tournament, but they know what this tournament does. We also make it an experience,” said Nelson.

 

For anyone that’s participated, they know Nelson’s words are far from an embellishment. The 18-hole Pete Dye Course has a 19^th hole, which is a par three, that basically is off the back porch of the clubhouse. Then there’s another additional hole, which Nelson has dubbed hole 19.5. The hole is essentially and eight-foot wall that you have to get the ball over and get closest to the target.

 

“You’ve got to be creative and keep inventive. We know people come because it’s a good cause and I don’t have to beg people to come or even donate any more, but you don’t want to take that for granted and get complacent,” said Nelson. “We keep pushing this, tweaking it and improving on it. We really thing what we offer is unique locally and probably statewide it not nationwide.”

 

The tournament does feature five bars out on the course and six bars in total for those who will experience some down time due to the huge number of participants. There are also a couple of deejays on two of the holes for further entertainment.

 

“We’re able to do this because our expenses are almost non-existent with no paid staff members. Then you have people like Richard Kiner (the owner of Rocko’s) who donated all the legal beverages,” said Nelson. “We have so many folks like him that just make this work.”

 

The match will conclude with an awards ceremony and a cocktail hour. He said the final event is the auction of a number of items.

 

While the field is full, Nelson said the charity accepts donations throughout the year. He also said he needs volunteers before, during and after Monday’s event. For those who would like to donate and volunteer, contact Nelson at 304-842-7270.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo is of Kelly Nelson at last year's event handling his host responsibilities, while in the bottom photo he is shown at his new office on the campus of United Hospital Center. Top photo by Ben Queen of www.benqueenphotography.com.