A short memory is needed for golf, but Saturday’s golf tournament at Arthur Hills encouraged a long memory.

For the 24th year, the Scramble for Freedom Golf Tournament allowed many people to play golf on a beautiful day while raising money for veterans. The event is sponsored by the Veterans Assistance League for the Missouri Veterans Home in Mexico and raised over $12,000.

Jennifer Rice, Veterans Assistance League president, said the golf tournament is the group’s biggest fundraiser of the year. Participation is limited to the first 36 paid teams for the tournament to run efficiently on the specific course, Rice said, and allowing that many golfers became necessary due to growing demand.

Scramble for Freedom Golf Photo Gallery and Results

“It’s interesting to watch the generations change over the 24 years,” Rice said. “We now have players who are sons of players. We actually have a couple of grandfathers who started it out with grandsons playing. The importance is recognizing the need to support our veterans. This community stands up for their veterans.”

This is the first year in a while that the event has reached its maximum amount of teams, according to Rice. She said the number of teams were in the mid-20s the last few years, which is the maximum for similar tournaments, but this year’s event had 33 on the course. 

Rice said the event attracts people from across the state. Support for veterans is present anywhere just as the Missouri Veterans Home welcomes veterans from across the state. 

“The Missouri Veterans Home is a state organization and has a state budget that it works within,” Rice said. “The home becomes their home. We are the fiduciary for all the donations they receive. The state agency can’t take donations, so all those donations come to us. How we vet those donations and share them is focused on quality of life. It’s all about improving life.”

Rice said there is a seemingly endless list of ways that donations can improve the Missouri Veterans Home quality of life. She pointed to the purchase of 12 glider rockers that were safe and clean along with other necessary services. Money also funds tools for outdoor tasks such as fishing and gardening.

A new bus was purchased last year, and Rice said the league is looking to buy another bus this year. Halloween and Easter candy is provided by the league for kids who visit the home. The veterans even have new televisions in their rooms thanks to a recently completed project made possible by donations.

“We found it works best to provide the home with a budget each year,” Rice said. “For the things that we talk about like the known events that we have and these extra and unexpected things that all relate to their care and quality of life.”

Rice said there is plenty of support for the living veterans at the home, but she said the event tries to honor all kinds of veterans, including those killed in action. There were nine blue signs with the names, photographs and military affiliation of Audrain County men who mostly perished in the Vietnam War. 

There were red signs along a couple of Arthur Hills paths with the information about area veterans who have lived after their service. Rice said there is ample evidence that its veterans aren’t forgotten.

“The last two years, we’ve brought the signs out to say, ‘Hey, this is who you’re supporting. This is who this is about,’” Rice said.