April 21 was no ordinary Monday for Ouimet Alumnus Dr. Tim Lynch ’95.
After running the 129th Boston Marathon for Team Ouimet, Lynch went from the finish line on Boylston Street to the registration line at Encore Boston Harbor in Everett to attend the sold out Ouimet Banquet honoring Dick Connolly.
“Running the Marathon and attending the Banquet that evening made for an unforgettable day,” said Lynch, who ran Boston for the second time after completing the virtual event in 2020. “It was incredible from start to finish – a powerful celebration of personal achievement, the support of the Ouimet community, and the lasting impact The Fund has had on my life.”
The Ouimet Fund obtained a bib for the world’s oldest annual marathon and chose Lynch to lead a fundraising effort on behalf of the Scholars, which is approaching $25,000 to date.
A Barnstable native who grew up on Cape Cod, Lynch began working in the golf shop and as a caddie at Hyannisport Club as a 13-year-old. By the time his college journey began five years later, he had been promoted to Caddie Manager at Hyannisport and earned a Ouimet Scholarship to attend UMass Amherst. Lynch utilized his college summers to caddie and work in the golf shop at Willowbend Country Club in Mashpee, spending more than a decade of his youth working in golf.
“Caddying and spending time on the golf course as a boy taught me valuable life skills and shaped my future,” added Lynch. “The Ouimet Fund supported my college education and helped me become an optometrist. I’ve felt inspired to give back, and there’s no better way for me to show my support than by running the Boston Marathon on behalf of The Fund.”
Lynch is the owner of Bay Eye Center, which provides primary eye care to patients throughout the south shore of Massachusetts. The Mansfield resident graduated from UMass Amherst in 1995 before receiving his Doctor of Optometry degree from the State University of New York College of Optometry in New York City in 1999. He has also participated in multiple international volunteer missions, providing eye care and glasses to thousands of underserved individuals.
“Golf isn’t just a game. It’s a life lesson. It teaches honesty, fairness, and perseverance—values that have stayed with me and inspired my journey to becoming an optometrist,” said Lynch. “Thanks to the support of the Ouimet Fund, I was able to achieve my goals, earning my education and now providing vision care to tens of thousands of people in Massachusetts and abroad.”
