Stacey News: December 2023

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Christmas 2023

From Gladys and I a very Merry Christmas to all of you and all the best for a healthy & prosperous New Year in 2024.

Again this year I asked family members on the Stacey & Brennan sides to pass along a photo of their Christmas trees or other displays they may have. The following list is the ones I have received. Thank you all so much for taking part. There is still time for others to send along their photos and I will post them.

Gerard, Meredith & Family - Marystown, NL

This is Gladys's brother Gerard's who lives not too far from us here in Marystown with Meredith, Evan, Maddison, Rowan and as well as the biggest cat I ever saw.

Uncle Leonard and Aunt Noreen Mallay - Marystown, NL

This tree belongs to Gladys's Uncle Len and his wife Noreen who live on the south side of Marystown.

Bernadette & Boyd - Marystown, NL

Bernadette is my sister and lives with her husband Boyd in Marystown. They send along Christmas wishes to all along with the hope that everyone has a safe and prosperous New Year in 2024

Hughie Brennan - Marystown, NL

This tree belongs to Gladys's brother, Hughie, aka Razor who lives in Marystown. He sends along season's greetings to all with best wishes for a healthy New Year in 2024.

Joan King & Reuben Grandy - Garnish, NL

Joan is my sister and she lives with Reuben in Garnish. They send along Christmas greetings to all and best wishes for a safe and happy new year in 2024.

Ed Brennan & Rita Manning - Torbay, NL

Eddie is Gladys's first cousin and he & Rita live in lovely Torbay, NL. They send Christmas wished to all as well as all the best for a healthy & Happy New Year in 2024.

Kevin & Diane Stacey - Moncton, NB

Here's a photo of their tree along with an outside photo of their house. Great shot of Old St. Nick climbing on the roof.

Ryan and Jes Stacey - Victoria, BC

Ryan is my nephew and along with his wife Jessica live in beautiful Victoria, BC.

Aaron and Sonja Barton-Stacey & Ophelia - Calgary AB

Hope that everyone has a wonderful Christmas and happy healthy end to 2023. All the best for 2024! Merry Ho Ho

God Jul - Merry Christmas in Norwegian - Sonja's ancestry.

Aaron, Sonja and Ophelia

Aaron is my nephew who along with his wife Sonja & daughter Ophelia live in Calgary.

Gerard & Kathy - Calgary, AB

May the true spirit of Christmas shine in your heart and light your path. Merry Christmas from Gerard, Kathy and Kitty.

Gerard is my brother and Kathi is my sister-in-law.

Lucy Stacey - Etobicoke, ON

My sister Lucy has a lovely ceramic tree.

Corina & Stewart Lloyd- Caledonia, ON

Wishing all of our family & friends in Newfoundland and around the country and other parts of the world, a very Merry Christmas. I know for many, this time of year is hard as we miss our loved ones who are no longer here. We are sending love, thoughts and prayers to all, for a joyful holiday, remembering those who have passed with fondness and smiles on our faces.

Corina is Gladys's niece who lives with her husband Stewart with their furry friend, Gus, near Hamilton, ON.

Marg & Pad - Burin, NL

Marg is Gladys's sister and lives with her husband Pad in Burin.

Matthew & Chelsie - Conception Bay South, NL

All the best for Christmas and the New Year from the newlyweds.

Matthew is Gladys's nephew and lives just outside the city of St. John's.

Tish & Darren - Downtown Dildo, NL

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. Certainly has been and will continue to be a very difficult one without our Queen. All the best for the New Year!

Tish is Gladys's sister and she along with Darren live in the bottom of the harbour in Dildo.

Mary & Lem - St. John's, NL

Wishing everyone near and far. Peace and joy.

Mary is Gladys's sister who along with her husband Lem live in the Kelsey Drive area of St. John's.

Barry & Gladys - Marystown, NL

Gladys did all the decorating - I just helped bring the tree upstairs from the basement.

Sarah & Malcolm - St. Catherine's, Ontario

Sarah, Cheryl's stepdaughter and Malcolm have 2 natural trees this year. Sarah loves Christmas and decorating as well.

Bill Brennan's Tree - Marystown, NL

This is Gladys's brother Bill's little tree in his new apartment. My kind of tree.

Monday, December 4, 2023

Golf NL Hall of Fame Induction

This is an email I received from Golf NL recently. What an honour it is to be inducted into such a prestigious organization.

"Golf Newfoundland Labrador (Golf NL) and the Hall of Fame & Awards Selection Committee to inform you that you have been selected for induction into the Golf Newfoundland Labrador Hall of Fame, Class of 2023, in the category of "Contributor (Volunteer)" .

The scholarship awards, annual awards and Hall of Fame induction ceremonies took place at Bally Haly Country Club on Saturday November 25th, 2023 beginning at 6:30 P.M. with a reception, dinner, scholarship, annual awards presentations and inductions of members into the Golf Hall of Fame.

My sincere appreciation to Keith Howse and Eric Ayers of Grande Meadows for putting my nomination forward and my thanks to Eric, Jeanette Lundrigan, Wayne Gray, Carl Hill, Matthew Hackett, Bob Hoyles and Ray Walsh for their kind words in support of my nomination.

I would like to thank my family members for your encouragement and support in my life endeavours. I come from a family of 12 children and married a girl from a family of 13 children ….so there wasn’t much trouble to get a few people to attend my induction ceremony. With me this evening I have 3 brothers and 2 sisters and other family members and in-laws here, as well as close friends of mine from the Grande Meadows and Bally Haly Golf Courses. As well, a big thank you to Kim Grandy-Baker a fellow Golf NL Hall of Famer from the Grande Meadows Golf Course. Thank you all for attending….it means the world to me.

A big thank Kim and Bill Lee of Grande Meadows for your management of Grande Meadows and the way you allowed me and others to carry out volunteer work at the course. Your guidance, input and professionalism has played a significant role in why Grande Meadows is so highly respected today. As well I would like to thank all the members at Grande Meadows for their support throughout the years. That support has certainly played a big part in my continuing to volunteer around Grande Meadows to this day. Thank you all for your kind words, emails, phone calls as well as social media congratulations after my Hall of Fame Induction became public.

I would be remiss if I didn't thank deceased members of our club who have helped and taught me about the role of volunteering, Dave Brenton, Clayton Welsh, Ray Warren, Don MacBeath and Wilf Miller to name a few. Your kindness towards me and your unselfish volunteering hours at Grande Meadows will never, ever be forgotten.

I would like to thank my wife Gladys for her unwavering love, support and understanding. I know that she has lived - through many days and nights being alone while I was playing in and/or organizing a tournament at the Golf Course. I thank her for planning our vacations around my volunteering and/or me participating in sporting events. It didn’t seem to affect our marriage and lifestyle activities, as we will have been together 52 years this December. And to my precious daughter Cheryl, whom we lost to breast cancer just over 7 years ago. She was her dad's biggest fan and loved playing golf with me. I'm sure she would be proud of your 'old man’s' induction tonight”

There has been an odd time throughout the years when my wife Gladys has said, “Barry, why can't you just go over to the course and play without always volunteering”. I guess it's not in my DNA.

My good friend frequently uses this quote from Sir Winston Churchill…”We make a living by what we get, but we make a life, by what we give.”

Thank you very much for this great Honour of selecting me into the NL Golf of Hall of Fame.

Me with Shaane Nathu, Golf NL President