On Friday afternoon, Crown Point community members and visitors from around the country came together at White Hawk Country Club. They celebrated the life and legacy of a long-time pillar of the city with the Timothy Grzych Memorial Golf Outing.
The late Grzych was a Board of Works member, family man, and long-time coach who was instrumental in bringing what is now known as the Timothy J. Grzych Ice Rink to Bulldog Park. The Memorial Golf Outing, now in its fourth year, is both a celebration of the man’s contributions to the community, as well as a fundraiser for Crown Point’s youth hockey program.
“Tim was a very gracious person, he was the kind of man that helped every person on the side of the road,” said his wife Karen Grzych. “He just really gave a lot, with a gracious smile. The reason we’re here is because he touched so many lives, not just his family and associates. Crown Point’s motto is ‘building strength from within the community,’ and that’s what he did. He loved living here.”
Grzych was an avid golfer and White Hawk Country Club’s course was his favorite in the Region. He also loved hockey and his son was a member of the Crown Point Bulldog Hockey Team. He spent a lot of time with the club, both watching his son and occasionally filling in as a coach. By raising funds for the club, the golf outing combines two of his beloved pastimes, with the funds set to help more children participate in club hockey.
“Hockey is not actually done at the school and it can be expensive,” Karen Grzych said. “It’s difficult for some parents to come up with the funds to let their kids participate and see if they’ll like it. It’s not like soccer where you need cleats, pads, and a ball. Hockey needs a lot more than that, and it can take a lot of money – that’s what the youth program helps with.”
Grzych collaborates with the city to host the event each year – targeting it for the last weekend of August, so visitors from states as far as Florida can make plans to attend. Nearly 150 golfers took part in this year’s outing.
“We’re happy to participate and continue remembering Tim in a positive way while supporting the things he loved,” said Diana Bosse, entertainment superintendent for Crown Point’s PACE Department. “It’s great to see so much support from the community and everybody who really loved him and wants to keep his memory alive.”
David Uran, former Crown Point mayor and a friend to Grzych noted he was not at all surprised to see such a strong turnout.
“There are a lot of people here from outside of Northwest Indiana who come out because of the impact Tim had on their lives,” Uran said. “Tim was a fantastic husband and a wonderful father to his two children, but he was also a big community steward to Crown Point and helped it get to where it is today. You see it with the Sportsplex, you see it with the hockey rink that’s named after him. His fingerprints are everywhere.”
Current Crown Point Mayor Pete Land also took part in the outing and shared similar thoughts.
“Tim had a great impact on this city and this event, aside from being a fundraiser for a great cause, keeps his memory and legacy alive,” he said. “It’s a fantastic event, everybody looks forward to it. You can see all of these pictures inside of Tim with all of these people whose lives he touched.”
To learn more about Crown Point’s hockey programs, including how to register for participation, visit https://www.crownpoint.in.gov/413/Hockey
