Jay's Hope golf tournament honors Batavia grad

Jay Burger was not unlike many other college kids who were natural athletes and showed a lot of interest in all types of sports.

But not all faced the challenges Burger encountered in 2014, being diagnosed with bone cancer just six weeks before graduating from the University of Iowa.

He died in late June of 2016 at the age of 24.

Through it all he was nothing short of a hero, his mother Kelly Jo Golson said.

"He fought so hard and pushed through unimaginable circumstances to live life to the fullest," Golson said. "He never gave up, but instead found another challenge or adventure that he was still able to enjoy."

And when he did so, he would post "back to business" on his social media accounts.

Thus, it is no surprise that family and friends have organized the first Jay's Hope Back to Business Golf Tournament at noon July 24 at Eagle Brook Country Club in Geneva.

The event continues throughout the day with a dinner, cocktails and silent auction. Those interested in participating in the four-person scramble event can register at jayshope.net.

When Burger couldn't take part in some of the more strenuous sports he enjoyed like hockey and snowboarding, he became more passionate about golf. When his friends from Batavia High School, where he graduated in 2010, and from Phi Delta Theta fraternity at college got together to form an event in his honor to raise money for college students battling cancer, the golf event was a natural.

The event will benefit Jay's Hope, a nonprofit organization formed to deliver help to those facing illness when leaving college.

"He was an amazing role model," Golson said of her son. "He inspired so many to reach higher, work harder and achieve so much more than they had ever thought possible."

It is extremely difficult for any parent to lose a child, but Golson knows that the golf tournament is a way for her to share what she knew so well about her son.

"He was the best son anyone could ask for," she said. "So amazingly bright, caring, passionate and loving.

"He was truly the driving force of connecting others, keeping us all together and finding a way to unite family and friends."

New concert sound:

The way Scott Corbin sees it, his Jank Guitar Store in downtown St. Charles just became the headquarters for a sound technology that is going to change the concert-going experience for all of mankind.

Sounds pretty dramatic, but he might be on to something here.

The technology, called live20/20, was created and developed since 1998 by Steven Douglas. An interesting explanation of the tech has been on display at the St. Charles History Museum, noting that it essentially gives fans at live concerts, theater or speeches the opportunity to listen as if the band were right next to them - no matter where they sit in a concert venue.

"It's a global technology that is going to bring manufacturing and tech jobs to the region," Corbin said. "We're really looking forward to that, especially to provide job opportunities for local grads."

Before, or while at a concert, a fan would download the live20/20 app and input their row and seat number at the concert location. The app automatically syncs with the phone with a transmitter in that section, then users can take in the high-definition audio experience through their headphones.

In part, the technology is designed to let audience members control volume level as well, as opposed to enduring the intense volume of a live concert for hours.

"This product is eventually going to be used in major concert venues around the world," Corbin said.

And he's quite pleased that St. Charles will be smack in the middle of it.

Only with an arrow:

In our travels, we have spent a fair amount of time going through the Route 31 and Fabyan Parkway intersection.

I've mentioned this intersection before as fairly scary because it seems quite narrow and jogs slightly at a couple of spots. In other words, you have to be alert going through it or making any turns.

After seeing a couple of accidents there when drivers are trying to negotiate a left-hand turn, we've decided that the county might want to consider left turns only on a green arrow.

On the mend:

It was good to see Derek Wagner smiling last week. After all, the 2017 Geneva High School graduate has had a tough go of it lately, breaking his kneecap more than a month ago during training for his ongoing march up the ranks of the nation's top figure skaters.

Wagner was smiling because he was enjoying his high school graduation party with family and friends - plus the swelling of that knee has diminished greatly, from about large cantaloupe size to that of maybe a softball or baseball.

Still, it will be several months before Wagner can test the knee and determine the best plan of action to either continue pursuing his dream of being a Team USA skater or look upon the sport in other ways, as maybe an instructor or coach.

dheun@sbcglobal.net