Torres Memorial Tournament planned

Golfers are wanted to join in the fun at the Fifth Annual 2nd Lt. Andrew Torres Memorial Golf Tournament on Monday, June 22 at La Cañada Flintridge Country Club. Torres, a 23-year-old graduate of Palm Crest Elementary School, Flintridge Prep and Annapolis, lost a two-year battle with a rare form of liver cancer on April 3, 2004. He asked his parents and friends to help find a cure for the disease. Funds raised from the tournament go directly to Huntington Medical Research Institutes (HMRI), an independent medical research non-profit in Pasadena, which is respected and renowned for its groundbreaking work in cancer research and other debilitating diseases. To date, over $250,000 has been raised through past fundraising events

“Andrew believed it was important to support cancer research. This tournament is a labor of love for family and friends and it helps fulfill our promise to him,” said his father Leonard Torres.

Elaine La Marr, a member of the tournament committee for the past five years added, “Andrew was an outstanding young man, his life cut short by a devastating and indiscriminate disease. His choice to serve in the military and possibly put his life on the line was just that, his choice. This disease took any and all choice away from him. We don’t know what Andrew could have achieved but we do know that no one should have their dreams taken away without the chance to fulfill them. Anything, no matter how large or small, we can do to help find a cure for cancer is worth the effort.”

HMRI Executive Director William Opel stated, “Physicians at HMRI’s Liver Center on Fair Oaks Avenue and scientists in HMRI’s Molecular Medicine laboratory on North El Molino Avenue are working toward better understanding the causes of liver cancer, how to detect it early, and better ways to treat it.”

To sign up to participate in the tournament or for more information, call (626) 792-3175 or visit www.andrewtorres.org.