Peter S. Lynch Recipient of Richard F. Connolly, Jr. Distinguished Service Award
Peter S. Lynch, a Ouimet Scholarship alumnus, long-time trustee, and legendary Fidelity Investments portfolio manager, will be presented the Richard F. Connolly Jr. Distinguished Service Award at the Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund’s 61st Annual Banquet on May 10, 2010. The presentation will be a special feature of an evening highlighted by the appearance of Annika Sorenstam, who will be the guest speaker and recipient of the fifteenth “Francis Ouimet Award for Lifelong Contributions to Golf.” The dinner will be held at the Boston Marriott Copley Place.
“The Ouimet Fund has had no greater supporters than Peter Lynch and Dick Connolly. Both are Ouimet alums, highly successful investment professionals, and wonderful supporters of The Fund and its mission. Peter speaks often of how the Ouimet Fund helped him afford the tuition while he was in college, and we’re proud to recognize him with the Connolly Award at this year’s banquet,” said Richard J. Barrett, Ouimet Fund President.
Mr. Lynch was a caddie at Brae Burn Country Club and a recipient of the Ouimet Scholarship while attending Boston College, from which he graduated in 1965. He then attended the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School before embarking on a legendary career at Fidelity Investments, including 13 years as portfolio manager of the Magellan Fund which rose 28-fold per share and became the largest and best-performing mutual fund in the world during his leadership.
Mr. Lynch is currently Vice Chairman of Fidelity Management & Research Company and an Advisory Board Member of the Fidelity Funds. He is the author of three very popular books: One Up on Wall Street, Beating the Street, and Learn to Earn. Each has been translated into many languages, read all over the world and are considered some of the best books ever written on investing and the stock market. Mr. Lynch donates all proceeds from these best-selling books and from any speaking engagements to charity.
He has served on numerous non-profit boards, and is especially involved with the Inner City Scholarship Fund where he was the chairman for twenty years, raising over $70 million for this effort. More than half his work week is spent on raising money for partial scholarships for needy children so they can attend parochial schools of Greater Boston.
Mr. Lynch became a Ouimet Fund Trustee in 1993. He was the principal speaker at the Ouimet Fund’s Annual Banquet in 1995 and a special guest and speaker when the Fund honored Arnold Palmer in 1997. He also spoke on behalf of the Ouimet Fund at the Massachusetts Golf Association’s Spring Conference in 1991. Through the years, Mr. Lynch has been a major donor to and supporter of the Ouimet Banquet and other Ouimet initiatives. He and his wife, Carolyn, are Ouimet Society Lifetime Members.
The Richard F. Connolly Distinguished Service Award was established in 2000 in honor of Mr. Connolly, a Ouimet Scholarship alumnus, former President and Trustee and current Board Member who has proudly served the Ouimet Fund for over 35 years. For the past 32 years he has been the Chairman of the Francis Ouimet Memorial Tournament. He has also underwritten the production of the Richard F. Connolly, Sr. Trophy, the Ouimet Memorial’s permanent trophy that is one of the most unique in golf. Mr. Connolly has been the driving force in starting the Francis Ouimet Lifelong Contributions to Golf Award Annual Banquets, and helping arrange the sponsorship of Morgan Stanley and other companies. He has also established an endowed Ouimet scholarship in his family’s name and helped The Fund in many other ways. The Connolly Award is presented annually in his honor. Mr. Connolly is a member of Concord Country Club, The Kittansett Club and Weston Golf Club.
Tickets and sponsorships are still available for the Ouimet Banquet, which has been for the last several years the largest golf banquet in the US. Please call the Ouimet Fund at 774-430-9090 for information.
Ouimet 2009-2010 Scholarships Distributed
The Ouimet Fund is awarding $1.325 Million in scholarships in 2009-2010 and first semester checks have already been issued for most of the 261 financial scholars. “We are very pleased to be able to award $1.325 Million in scholarships in this difficult financial environment which has impacted everyone. It’s been a time of great uncertainty and its been very hard to project how our fundraising will do so we’re pleased to announce we will at least level fund all our scholars,” said Richard J. Barrett, Ouimet Fund President and himself a former Ouimet Scholar. He went onto explain how families are in such strained financial circumstances and thanked and encouraged the clubs and individuals members for their support. He also announced that this year’s award will bring The Fund to over $20 Million in total awards over the years. “Twenty Million dollars is a significant milestone for us, and we’re pleased to reach it in a time like this.” In addition to the 261 financial scholars, there are 93 honorary scholars who do not receive cash awards.
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Ouimet Fund Annual Meeting Caps 60th Anniversary Year
The Ouimet Fund celebrated its 60th Anniversary with a beautiful day of golf and a dinner at Oakley Country Club on Monday, October 26. It was a special year with many milestones and special events. The evening recognized many award recipients, retiring directors, incoming directors, and attendees heard from the Ouimet Scholar receiving The Fund’s Twenty Millionth Dollar of Scholarships! Advance copies of the 2009 Annual Report were also available that evening. The viewable PDF is available by clicking here.
Charlie Connolly of Winchester Country Club is the 2009 recipient of the Ouimet Chair of the Year Award. This 9th annual award honors outstanding service as a Ouimet Chair at a supporting club. Charlie is shown here with his wife Carol at the presentation. Thank you Charlie!
Ouimet Clerk Denny Kelly(r) and Renee Inomata(c), both of Burns and Levinson, with Ms. Inomata's husband Paul Lee. Renee was 
recognized at the Annual Meeting for her contributions of services in connection with applying for, being granted, and the registration of the Ouimet Fund officially recognized as The Golf Charity of Massachusetts by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Thank you Renee!
Become a Fan of the Ouimet Fund on Facebook HERE to see the many other 60th Anniversary celebration photos from Monday’s Annual Meeting!
The Ouimet Fund renamed its “Honorary Alumnus Award” after Denny Goodrich(c), who retired from the Ouimet Fund’s Board of Directors on Monday after 37 years of incredible service! With him are his son Rob (l) and Dave Adamonis, Jr.(r). Dave accepted the 2009 Goodrich Award on behalf of his late father Dave Adamonis, Sr. who died on October 10. Mr. Adamonis founded the US Junior Challenge Cup and always had the best interests of junior golf and the Ouimet Fund in his heart, and we deeply appreciate all he did over the years.
Dick Connolly and the evening's student speaker, Christopher Blum. Chris attends Bentley College and did his service to golf at Weston Golf Club. Chris was recognized at Oakley as the recipient of the Twenty-Millionth Dollar of Ouimet Scholarships!
Ouimet Scholars/Alumni Join Facebook
The Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund has created a group on the social networking site Facebook to help scholars, alumni, parents, club officials, donors and golfers to connect on the web. As one of the top 5 viewed websites in the entire world, Facebook is being used as a resource by many organizations. Never before has it been so simple to re-connect or stay connected with family, friends, and colleagues and the Ouimet Fund is no exception. The Ouimet Facebook page is a great way for fans of the Ouimet Fund to stay up to speed on the latest news with The Fund. Debuted in our 60th Anniversary year, this group offers opportunities to volunteer, invitations to The Fund’s calendar of events, ways to update contact information and it now allows users to post comments, videos and pictures. In expanding this network, “fans” can also help expand the reach of The Fund’s message and Francis’ legacy.
Anyone interested in becoming a “fan” are urged to get connected on Facebook and spread the word. All you need to start is a valid email address. Just go to www.facebook.com and register yourself. Search for the group Ouimet Scholarship and join! We hope to hear from you on Facebook!
Special Fundraising Events
Anders Alumni Tournament
Belmont Caddie Alumni Tournament
Brae Burn Caddie Alumni Tournament
Robert T. Lynch Municipal Golf Course Ouimet Lowery Tournament
Cape Cod Open
Deutsche Bank Championship
WGAM/Dolly Sullivan Tournament
Francis Ouimet Junior Championship
Hyannisport Club Memorial Scholarship Invitational
Jerry Daly Father & Son Tournament
Wellesley Country Club Igoe Pro-Am
New England Senior Golfers’ Association
NFL Alumni Golf Classic
Onstott Invitational
Red Lion Invitational