A Golf Outing Fit for
a Huntington King
John Fulton was royalty around town. He packed an awful lot into his life, with enough good deeds to impress anyone. But, he wasn’t interested in laurels for himself. He was a fun guy and just a nice man who loved his community, its schools and the young people that call Huntington home.
Mr. Fulton, a 1973 Huntington High School graduate, owned the Huntington Pennysaver Group for many years. The business allowed him to help others in ways big and small. When he passed away last August at the still young age of 55, it came as a shock, despite his battle against multiple myeloma.
His family and friends mourned the loss of Mr. Fulton, consoling themselves with cherished memories of a life filled with love. They decided to continue his charitable way of living by creating the non-profit John F. Fulton Foundation and organizing a summer golf outing to provide funding for the new endeavor.
Over the years, Mr. Fulton became an easily recognizable figure at Huntington sports games, school plays, homecoming festivities and similar events. He was a proud Blue Devil fan and sometimes a loud one at that.
Mr. Fulton left behind his wife Maureen and four children, Meghan, John Jr., Grace and Alexandra. It’s a strong family that is determined to make the Fulton Foundation a force for good. Proceeds from the golf outing were earmarked for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.
The late June golf outing at the Huntington Crescent Club drew dozens of golfers and an evening dinner crowd of about 100 Fulton friends. The event cleared about $10,000.
“The outing was great,” said Alexandra Fulton, who played a key role in organizing the event. “I had never been to a golf outing before; I had only heard about them from my dad, but I never realized how much planning went into it. There was a lot of organizing, letter stuffing and basket creating for this event. Our friends all pitched in and helped; some donated their own baskets.”
A forecast for rain sent shivers up and down the Fulton family’s collective spine as worries set in that people wouldn’t show up. “When the day of the outing came, my mother said that my dad wouldn’t do that to us, he would keep the rain away for our event, and sure enough we had a wonderful, sunny day,” Alexandra said. “As soon as our golfers had finished playing, it began to rain, and we knew that my dad was watching over the event.”
The Fulton’s were more than pleased with the turnout considering there were several other golf outings held that same day. A silent auction also proved successful and about 20 gift baskets were raffled off, too.
“We could not have asked for a better day, filled with friends and family that truly made it an event to remember,” Alexandra Fulton said. “We all know that John Sr. would have been so proud to see this event occur, and he would have been all smiles if he was attending himself. My family is so grateful for all of our friends and family who have been there to support us and help us put this event together. We couldn’t have done it without them.”
The evening dinner was a celebration of Mr. Fulton’s life, as guests reminisced about his love for golf and told funny stories about him and their relationships with him.
“The outing was a really special day,” Alexandra Fulton said. “It was a challenge to put this all together in six months, and to see the success that we did was truly a testament to the strength of the friendships that my father had. He would have loved to attend this event, and we felt his presence throughout the entire day. It was in his true spirit that our family was called up for several of the raffle baskets, as he never came home from an outing empty handed.”
Next year’s golf outing is already being planned “and we know that year after year we will have our father watching over us, making sure that everything runs smoothly,” Alexandra Fulton said.
For more information about the Fulton Foundation and how you can help, call John Fulton, Jr. at (631) 897-3947 or send an e-mail to john.f.fultonfoundation@gmail.com.
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