Garett McComb and his girlfriend Brittney Geise were brutally murdered in a Prince George home in an organized crime clash in 2008.
He was 23, she was 19.
The family of McComb could not change the choices the young man made. Reportedly an intelligent, healthy, outgoing youth, McComb channelled himself into a life of drugs and violence.
He was a gang member, and the gang life killed him.
McComb's loved ones never gave up trying to halt the gang influence, even when it was too late for him. For the past three years they have organized a golf tournament to raise funds for street-level prevention initiatives, so fewer kids get recruited into the gang life.
"It is very courageous of them," said Faydra Aldridge, spokeswoman for the Prince George YMCA. The organization has worked with the McComb family since the double-murder.
"For her [McComb's mom, Colleen, a driving force for the tournament] to go through all she has and then put in all the work to organize an annual event like this is amazing, and then to make sure the money went to youth who need a hand up in life, it says a lot about her and her family."
The YMCA is the gatekeeper organization at a storefront facility downtown called Youth Around Prince or YAP for short. It is home to a number of proactive, frontline, youth-focused programs. The money raised by the tournament goes to operate these, said Aldridge.
"It is a good way to take a negative thing and turn it to something positive.
"The Garett McComb Memorial Fund is built on donations from family and friends at different times of the year, but with the support of family, friends and others in the community, the money raised at the annual golf tournament is our major fundraiser," said the McComb family in a written statement for this year's event.
The tournament is held at Aspen Grove Golf Course, today, with a 10:30 a.m. check-in time. Entry fee is $55 per person. Enter as a team of four or join in smaller numbers to be allocated into teams.
For more information call Aspen Grove at 250-963-9350 or e-mail [email protected].
