The eighth annual PS3 Ronald A. Gill Jr. Memorial Golf Tournament was held this past Saturday, July 19, at the Cranston Country Club.

The event helps to raise funds for the PS3 Ronald A. Gill Jr. Memorial Scholarship Foundation, which was established by the family and friends of Ron Gill Jr. after his tragic death while serving in the Coast Guard.

Since it began in 2007, the foundation has raised over $170,000 for college scholarships that benefit local students.

This weekend’s event included registration and lunch, dinner at the Cranston Country Club immediately following the event, 18 holes of golf – including various contests at specific holes, such as putting and hole-in-one contests – a silent auction, a raffle and other prizes. A special Coast Guard fly-over marked the start of the event itself.

Retired Coast Guard Rear Admiral Tom Atkin has come to the golf tournament from Arlington, Va., for the past several years, making the trip because he feels the cause is a worthy one.

“I come up from Arlington every year. The rest of my group comes from Florida, Massachusetts and Connecticut. We all come in every year for at least the past five years now, maybe more,” he said. “Ron, Rosemary, Jonathan, Ambur, Gracie – you can’t get any better than those folks. It’s a celebration of Ron Jr., and that’s what makes it great. It’s a good cause and it’s good fun.”

For more information on the foundation, visit www.rongilljr.org.