Wee One Foundation

In 1985, four friends traveled to Scotland on a golf trip. The caddies were making wagers as these golfers stood on the tee. One caddie declared, "My money's on the wee one!" The "wee one", Wayne Otto, CGCS, our dear friend and colleague, passed away October 21, 2004 losing his battle to cancer. Wayne dedicated his life to the betterment of the golf maintenance profession he loved and the individuals who shared his passion.

Our Mission

The Wee One Foundation was developed as a tribute to Wayne to assist golf course management professionals (or their dependents) who incur overwhelming expenses due to medical hardship without comprehensive insurance or adequate financial resources. Through the Foundation's work, Wayne's legacy will never be forgotten.

More In Need

Since its inception in 2004, membership within the Wee One Foundation has grown to over 270 in 17 states. More importantly, the Wee One Foundation has gifted over $450,000 to families in Arizona, Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, Idaho, Minnesota and Texas. As the Wee One grows more people are helped and more funds are needed to distribute.

Wee One Foundation Helps The Tyson Family

Christmas came early this year for Jason Tyson and his family. In fact, it came during Thanksgiving week. That’s when Tyson, an Equipment Technician at The Wyndgate in Rochester Hills, received word that possible bone marrow donors had been found for two of his sons who have been battling a rare, life threatening disease.

More good news came the next day when Tyson and his wife received a donation to help defray their mounting medical bills from the Wee One Foundation.

“The Wee One Foundation is truly a blessing from God,” said Jason. “The donation we received could not have come at a better time.” Erin echoed Jason’s thoughts. “Words cannot express how grateful I am for the Wee One Foundation and their generosity to my family. Without them, I’m not sure what we would have done,” she said.

“The greatest satisfaction of being involved with a foundation like the Wee One is a moment like this – helping fellow turf industry people in their time of need,” said Cooney. “This is what it's all about!”

From left: Steve Cook (Oakland Hills CC), Mike Plague (Great Lakes Turf, LLC), Jason Tyson (The Wyndgate), Jason’s wife, Erin Tyson, and John Cooney (Tam-O-Shanter CC).