Capital City Country Club
Tallahassee, Florida
Last week I had the honor of photographing something wonderful. I’m not an event photographer, nor have I ever claimed to be, but if there’s a good cause in need of a camera woman, you can count me in.
Meet the Merriman’s, the founders of this event. The Merriman’s lost a son entirely too young eight years ago. After speaking with Lynn and how she loved her family and talked about Michael, I can only imagine how great he was. Since Michael’s passing his family decided that he needed to live on, and he has. They created the Merriman Scholarship for the University of Georgia. Side note: Imagine me, a Gator who bleeds orange and blue surrounded by all of this red! They put on a golf tournament and auction every year to raise funds for the scholarship.
I’ve never attended a golf tournament before, so I was pretty surprised to see people lined up for sign in. There must have been well over 100 people there ready to golf. When the players were finally sent off it sounded like a NASCAR race, just with electric golf carts! Everyone was in such good spirits all afternoon, it was clear that people were there to not only raise money, but to celebrate the life of Michael. Many players are no rookie to the event and have been with the Merriman’s all eight years.
The event even had the pleasure of hearing from a former scholarship recipient, Risa. Risa shared her story (a tear jerking one) about how the scholarship helped her during one of the most difficult parts of her life. Between 2-3 jobs and attending school full time, the Merriman scholarship has allowed her to receive an education despite everything life has thrown at her, including a brain tumor.
Lynn, I’m so thankful that I was able to witness the community you have built around Michael’s memory. It was a blessing to be there, to photograph it, and to get to meet some of the wonderful people you get to call friends. Between good people, good food, and a good time, I think you can count me in for next year too!
-Shelly
