Celebs entertain at Duel in the Desert

MOSES LAKE — The name of the game was entertainment at this year's Duel in the Desert and the smiles strewn on golfers' faces were a testament to its success. Grant County Economic Development Council's sole fund-raiser of the year at the Moses Lake Golf and Country Club paid off, especially with the help of two celebrity golfers: "Golf Nut" Joe Malay and Bill Krueger, Mariners baseball analyst and former Mariners pitcher.

The two-day event began Friday with Malay hosting a golf clinic for juniors. More than 50 kids and parents were treated to a one-of-a-kind clinic with the flamboyantly colorful host sporting his flamed covered shorts, bright orange shirt and mismatched shoes.

Jeff Roellich of Moses Lake brought his son out to Friday's junior golf clinic.

"For a guy that dresses in his attire, he hits the ball really well," Roellich said. "He comes across in a way that is real entertaining and informative for people that are either familiar with the game of golf or are not familiar with the game of golf."

Malay's bag of tricks included his 17-foot extend-o club, his literal one-"iron" and Mr. Whippy, a flimsy-shafted club. He uses his handcrafted clubs to demonstrate proper techniques.

"It's a training device," Malay said of his Mr. Whippy. "It gets no torque and a buggy whip for a shaft. Ninety percent of the people that hit this their first time cannot hit this, and it's such a good training aid because it gets your tempo down. If you take it back slow and then aggressively increase the club head speed, you can hit it solid every time."

The 57-year-old Malay showed the crowd the ease of which he could drive, launching balls well over 300 yards.

"I don't see how he hits it so far with so little effort," Wally Lane, Moses Lake Golf and Country Club member, said. "He is a clown. He's dressed like one and he's just entertaining. He does it with humor — and he's a great teacher."

EDC sponsors took to the course for their practice rounds with Malay and Bill Krueger later on Friday. They were also treated to a sponsors party where Malay and Krueger entertained the crowd's questions with jokes and baseball stories. Most people asked Krueger about the Mariners.

"I've gained an audience and it is really neat that people are interested in my opinion about baseball and in my opinion about the Mariners," Krueger said. "People want to know more about Ichiro — they are interested about the newer players, the younger players."

Krueger retired from pro baseball in 1996 and now works for FOX as a baseball analyst. The former pitcher said people asked him who his toughest opponents were.

"What the memories are is when you had your day against the best in the world and getting to play with those great players. I think that is what I take away from the game," Krueger said.

The questions continued on Saturday where the celebrity pair spent the morning hosting a golf clinic for the players and the rest of the day on the first hole, taking shots for players. Malay wowed players as he made some impressive drives to the green on the par four hole.

"Not just the fact that he is really entertaining, but the talent to do all these different things with a golf ball just blows me. I'm trying to hit the ball somewhere in the general direction of the hole and he's doing all of these tricks with it," Krueger said of Malay.

Both golfers are charity veterans, spending their free time giving back to the community when they can.

"I raise money for autism research because I have and autistic daughter and I support a number of other charities," Krueger said. "It's interesting, when something happens to you in your life, you realize how important it is to give back and I want to give back more than I ever got."

Mike Eslick, golf professional at the Moses Lake Golf and Country Club, said he was happy to see the players having such a good time.

"In my eyes, it was as entertaining as it has ever been and I think all the people that were involved with it had a good time," Eslick said. Eslick, who is friends with both Krueger and Malay, helped bring the celebrities to the fund-raiser.

The fund-raiser has continued to grow each year with the help of volunteers from the EDC.

"It is our single fund-raiser for the year," said Terry Brewer, Executive Director for the EDC. "It's going to be a good money maker for us again as it has in the past, and it is a very successful event."

The Duel in the Desert tournament concluded with the Party on the Green held on hole 10. Men in the Making returned for a second performance at the annual event where they entertained by playing cover songs of rock 'n' roll classics in full costume.

GCEDC manager calls fund-raiser 'best ever done'

Organization's lone fund-raiser used for marketing, recruiting

By Matthew Weaver

Herald staff writer

GRANT COUNTY — Even before all the money was counted, Caroline Spira was calling for financial success.

"I believe that this year, we will raise more money for the EDC's funds than any other year," the manager of communications and research for the Grant County Economic Development Council said the morning of the GCEDC's fund-raiser. The fund-raiser included the Duel in the Desert golf tournament, which began with a practice round on Friday, and the Party on the Green, which took place Saturday evening.

This morning, Spira estimated that the event took in nearly $50,000.

"Actually, this is the best we've ever done," she said, noting that the event has netted $35,000 or less in previous years. Of this year's event, Spira said, "We had a lot of support from the community, sold out for Party on the Green and we had a wonderful silent auction, which we've never done before."

Spira noted that the event, which was held for the fifth time, is the GCEDC's only fund-raiser of the year, and funds raised during the events go into marketing activities and recruitment efforts.

The funds from last year's event were used to update the GCEDC Web site, prepare literature for companies looking for information about the county, attend trade shows and ensure that the organization has the right resources to assist companies looking at relocating to the area.

"The funds that we raise in the golf tournament and Party on the Green has allowed us to forge ahead with the work we've done with some clients that we know are poised to announce their location in Grant County in the very near future," Spira said. She added that those events "are a show of force for people who support economic development in Grant County, in that together we will make a difference."