Everyone loves a good story about a charitable cause, especially around Christmas time. In the case of Stephen Morton, he is particularly fond of the Covenant House of Pennsylvania. He is a long-time and dedicated supporter of the charity, who’s mission statement reads that “commitment calls us to serve suffering children of the street and to protect and safeguard all children.”
Each year, Henkels & McCoy (an infrastructure engineering and construction contractor in the area) organizes a charity golf event to raise funds to ensure that every child at the Covenant House Shelter has a present to open on Christmas Day. This year was the 11th Annual Golf Tournament to benefit the cause, and Morton participated in the event for his 4th consecutive year primarily because, as he stated, “Every kid deserves a Christmas.”
Morton recalls that on the day of the tournament, it was sunny and windy. As he walked up to hole 17, he noticed a sign for a hole in prize sponsored by Fred Beans Ford Lincoln of Doylestown for a 2-year lease on a brand new Ford Escape. Morton notes, “I have played in a lot of outings over the years, and you see the sign sitting there, but don’t think anything of it because it’s a one in a million chance that you’ll win.”
After using his 5 wood to make the 190 yard shot, Morton picked up his tee and turned away, hoping he at least made the green. He recalls, “We didn’t see it actually go in, but the two people sitting there did and started yelling ‘It went in the hole! It went in the hole!'” He was completely baffled at the time, as this was only his second hole in one in over 40 years of playing golf. Morton emphasizes, however, that his first hole in one was nothing like the one he made to win the Ford Escape at this tournament. There was no prize offered at his first hole in one, and the hole was only 80 or 90 yards long.
The excitement was palpable at the tournament after Morton made his hole in one. “In 11 years of this tournament being put on, they’ve never had a hole in one before,” Morton says. “I wasn’t there to win a car; I was there to support a great cause.” Noting that Christmas hasn’t quite been the same since his own children have grown up and no longer live at home, Morton loves helping give the kids at the Covenant House of Pennsylvania a great Christmas.
Hearing stories like this warms our hearts during the Christmas season. The entire team at J. Ryder Group/Ford Lincoln Hole in One Program are overjoyed that someone as generous as Stephen was able to win a hole in one prize, and we’re thrilled for the publicity it has given this great organization. Here’s to many more years of golfing to give the kids at Covenant House of PA a great Christmas! Congratulations Stephen and many thanks to the good folks at Fred Beans Ford Lincoln of Doylestown for sponsoring this great event!
