EAU CLAIRE — From California, Texas, Tennessee. From Missouri, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan and more — they came.

“There’s Thanksgiving, there’s Christmas and there’s The Brian,” said Barbara Funk, one of 50 volunteers that helped host 420 golfers at the 33rd annual Brian Parker Memorial Foundation Golf Outing, known as “The Brian,” at Indian Lake Hills Golf Course in Eau Claire Saturday.

The morning round of golf began at 8 a.m., but for Dick and Judy Parker, the day actually began on Friday.

“We got here about 2:30 (p.m.) yesterday,” Dick said. “And I got here about quarter to five today.”

In that time, Dick, Judy and the rest of the committee transformed Indian Lake Hills Golf Course into Brian Parker Golf Course with more banners, signs and tents than any one person typically sees in a day.

Lining the road were banners of sponsors. Each tee had signs with trivia facts. For every nine holes was a tent stocked with refills of water, pop, beer and, in some cases, snack food.

There were tents for those selling raffle tickets and tents for others giving raffle prizes. There were tents selling 50/50 tickets and tents selling T-shirts.

And, at the clubhouse, there were two memorials — one for those who survived their fights against cancer, and one for those who did not.

At the latter, front and center, was a stake with a purple ribbon dedicated to Brian Parker.

Thirty-five years ago, Dick and Judy lost their son Brian to leukemia. He was 14 years old.

To honor his memory and to help those who are still battling different types of cancer, Dick and Judy started the Brian Parker Memorial Foundation. Two years after losing Brian, they held the first Brian Parker Memorial Foundation Golf Outing with 16 teams, raising $500.

Today, the outing has 108 teams and raises nearly more than $60,000.

“It’s grown more than we could ever imagine,” Judy said.

Susy Vanderburg is the general manager of Indian Lake Hills Golf Course, the home course of The Brian for the last 23 years.

“It is amazing to see this (volunteer) crew working together and to get this many people in one place at one time,” she said. “It’s a testament to their spirit and Brian’s spirit.”

It seemed that Brian’s spirit was vibrantly alive in every golfer on the course. Many of the golfers Sunday had have golfed The Brian for more than 30 years, and there were some who have been golfing at it since they could barely walk, like Dick and Judy’s daughter (and Brian’s sister) Jenni Johnson.

“I’ve been out here since I was 12,” she said. “You could probably ask every golfer out here, and they could tell you that there is someone who they think about this time of year.”

Alex Strati is the regional president of Old National Bank, one of the event’s corporate sponsors, and Saturday was his first time golfing at The Brian.

“What an amazing legacy this family has started,” he said.

Even the most novice of golfers could be found at any given time with a huge smile on their face while they golf the course.

“If you don’t have fun at The Brian, then you’re not doing it right,”

Judy said.

Dick and Judy said they smile because they know that they are honoring Brian, and they know that the money that is raised through this event benefits a great cause.

The couple, through the Brian Parker Memorial Foundation, are able to help many local cancer patients who are in need of any kind of financial or emotional support. They make donations to Notre Dame, Indiana University and the University of Michigan, where Brian received treatment.

They pride themselves in being able to help struggling patients in the community anonymously.

“We will never give out any names of those we help,” Judy said.

After each team golfs 18 holes, they come in for a meal. The morning group eats lunch, and the afternoon group eats dinner. Scorecards are tallied, and the winners are announced. The morning winners were B. Jorgensen, Diane Liske, Travis Eull, Jim Curran and Kevin Connors. The afternoon winners were Hal Davis, Sherrie Brewington, Fred Krueger, Bill Gaideski and Rick McKeel.

Members of the Niles High School football team were also on hand to help with some of the heavy lifting required to help clean up.

At the end of the day, after all the golf is done, all the food was eaten and all the drinks were finished, those who were still left each take a balloon and stood in a circle in front of the clubhouse.

They went around the circle, each person sharing something about the day or about Brian. Some people said they were simply glad the day went well, and others talked about how, year after year, they are amazed that so many people came out and donated so much money to Brian and help others battling this disease.