Go ahead, call them momma’s boys.
Sure, they are now 26. Yes, they are successfully building lives in places both near and far from the Vancouver neighborhood where they grew up.
But when Dustin Cruzen, Jesse Krynak, Chris Weese, Bryce McGrew and Jake Bond reunited on Saturday at Tri-Mountain Golf Course, they were there for more than fun and games.
These childhood friends refuse to forget the dedicated women who sacrificed so that their sons might amount to something.
“You live this happy life, and you begin to realize what it took to put the building blocks in place,” Cruzen explains.
For Cruzen, Krynak and Weese, those building blocks were supplied by single moms who sacrificed so their boys might have happy childhoods and the education and inspiration needed to grow into successful adults.
Which brings us to why they gathered for golf on Saturday, joined by almost 100 friends and supporters for the fourth annual Our Three Moms Golf Tournament.
The tournament and dinner is the primary funding source for the Our Three Moms Scholarship Foundation (www.ourthreemoms.org), which the five young men formed as 22-year-olds as a way of giving back to the community that raised them. The not-for-profit was created to generate college scholarships for students from single-parent families in Vancouver.
It was the sacrifices of those women that brought the three 2001 graduates of Fort Vancouver High School, along with friends Bond and McGrew, to Tri-Mountain Golf Course on Saturday for a new tradition that is all about giving back. Some 90 golfers played in the tournament the five friends formed four years ago.
Last school year the program distributed $2,000 to area students.
Saturday’s 9-hole tournament was won by a team of Fort graduates. Matt Woodford, Ryan McGavran, Grant Timperley, Kyle Christel shot a 58. The tournament drew 89 golfers and 105 people attended the post-tournament dinner.
McGrew said he didn’t know how much money was raised, but estimated between $2,500 and $3,000. The group is thinking about staging a bowling fundraiser around the holidays this year.
The long-term goal is much grander.
They are hopeful that they will grow the funding base to a point where they can grant full four-year scholarships.
Bond and McGrew were raised in two-parent households, and their homes became gathering spots for friends. McGrew said he never really noticed the challenges his friend’s single moms faced, which in itself is a tribute to how dedicated those women were to giving their boys a quality life.
“Looking back, I was just amazed by the things their moms would do for them to make their lives better,” McGrew says.
When they reflect on their youth, sports — basketball, baseball, football — come up often. The five friends were teammates at various times from grade school through high school. McGrew graduated from Hudson’s Bay, the other four from Fort Vancouver.
These days they are scattered around the world. Cruzen traveled from the Philippines to attend Saturday’s events. Krynak lives in Houston, Weese in Minneapolis and Bond in San Francisco.
McGrew, who taught physical education for the Vancouver School District and coached at Hudson’s Bay last school year, had his positions cut and plans to move to Seattle soon.
Each of them appears to be on a successful path. Their plan is to honor their moms by helping others from single-parent homes branch out after high school.
“The sacrifices they made for our basketball practices and games really gave us a chance to bond,” says Weese, whose parents divorced when he was 13. “And it was a chance for me to learn from the adversity.”
It should come as no surprise that the mothers who inspired this foundation make their life’s work helping others. Rose Sarkkinen (Krynak’s mom), and Pati Hinkle (Cruzen’s mom) are counselors and Tammy Weese-Walker is a property manager.
The influence of fathers in their lives varied, but each says he was shaped by a strong mom.
Whenever someone tries to pat them on the back for their efforts, they are quick to deflect the credit to their mothers and to the friends’ families who helped them along the way.
“This cannot stand up to the adversity our mothers went through to bring us up,” Krynak says.
Though what they’ve accomplished in four short years might impress some, the guys say all they have done so far is start something. They see the Our Three Moms project as something that will bind their friendship and color their lives for a long time.
“I think we’re all pleased with the progress,” Krynak says, “but we’re not even close to being done.”
No doubt, though, they’ve already succeeded in making their moms proud.
