It was late January of this year, just a few weeks before I would head to Florida for GCSAA's conference and show, when Brian Cloud, the association's field staff representative in the South Central Region, clued me in on the story of Stephen Best.
At the time the director of golf course maintenance at Sky Creek Ranch Golf Club near Dallas, Best was in the middle of a battle with Stage 4 melanoma — skin cancer — and his story had galvanized the golf course management family in North Texas. The former president of the North Texas GCSA wasn't shy about sharing his story and how a complacency for using sunscreen and vigilance for the first signs of skin cancer in a profession that demands both had led him to where he was. He wrote about it in his chapter's newsletter, and was a vocal evangelist for proper sun protection and regular exams whenever he found himself among fellow golf course management professionals.
Cloud wanted me to see the story Best had written for the North Texas newsletter and wondered if GCM would have an interest in adapting that story for a national audience. We certainly did — I had actually been pursuing a story on skin cancer and its prevention for several months, and Best's story fit the bill perfectly for our audience. We published "Surviving skin cancer," in the July issue of the magazine, making Best eligible for GCSAA's 2012 Leo Feser Award.
When I last spoke with Best (it was late July or early August, I think, right after the story had been published in GCM), things had taken a turn for the worse. The cancer had returned, he was undergoing a new set of treatments and fighting the nasty set of side effects that came with those treatments. He was weary from the fight, but at least on the phone remained optimistic and focused on the future.
For Best, his fight with cancer came to an end on Sunday when he died from complications from his melanoma. He leaves behind a wife, Cheryle, and two young children, Addyson and Harrison. Funeral arrangements are still pending. You can read a full obituary, complete with funeral arrangements and information about memorials, right here. On behalf of the entire GCM team, we send our deepest condolences to the Best family and to those friends who knew him best. We're honored that we got to play a small part in sharing his story and spreading the message that had become so important to him.
Below is a letter the North Texas GCSA sent to its members on the passing of Stephen Best:
Dear Members,
With deep sorrow and a heavy heart, the North Texas GCSA announces that we have lost a member of our family. Stephen Best joined his heavenly Father today after a long and exhausting battle with Melanoma. Stephen served as President of the Association in 2004 and was awarded the association's highest honor, the A.C. Bearden Superintendent of the Year Award in 2010. Stephen was a mentor to many successful Superintendents across the state of Texas. More importantly, he was a terrific friend, brother, son, husband and father who will be missed deeply.
Many of you who attended the Awards Banquet earlier this year heard Stephen tell the great story about throwing a wrench in the bottom of a lake at Sky Creek out of frustration when he first heard of his diagnosis. He was poking fun at one of his former Assistants who did that very thing during one of Stephen's very heated "motivational" lessons. It was a great story and put things in perspective for a lot of people. So, next time you find a quiet moment on your course or a lake near you, find a wrench you can spare, and give it a toss in memory of our friend.
Please say a prayer for Stephen's amazing wife Cheryle and his young children, Allyson and Harrison. Stephen is also survived by his father, John Best and sister, Susan Clark. Funeral announcements will be made shortly and posted on the NTGCSA.org website and made available by email to members.
"I know God has a plan for me here and I think it is to touch as many people as I can along the way. My faith is strong and I am physically strong. If He can find something that works on me along the way that provides research for others, then I will do it, so that this nasty disease goes away some day. I feel that is why this is happening. God knows I can handle it and He is going to hold me in His hands the entire journey. I am going to be his disciple and deliver His word to whoever I come in contact with." Stephen Best, 2010
Many thanks to Brian Cloud for this wonderful memorial of one of our industry's greats.
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