W&L Employee Uses Golf to Raise Over $3,000 for the Alzheimer’s Association Jason Bunn participated in The Longest Day, an effort to raise awareness and funds to fight Alzheimer’s.

By Brian Laubscher
June 23, 2023

Jason Bunn, manager of retiree benefits and employee benefits specialist with the Office of Human Resources at Washington and Lee University, recently completed The Longest Day, a fundraising effort that benefits the Alzheimer’s Association. He did so by setting a personal record for golf holes played.

Longest Day activities generally occur on the date of the Summer Solstice (June 21), the longest day of the calendar year and the day with the most light. The Alzheimer’s Association encourages people across the world to fight the darkness of the illness through participation in an activity of their choosing.

Bunn has participated in The Longest Day program for five years to honor his late grandmother, Thelma Bunn. He learned of the Alzheimer’s Association through her battle with the illness, while a second relative introduced him to The Longest Day challenge.

“My grandma passed away a few years ago and suffered at the end, so it’s a personal connection to her,” said Bunn. “The foundation encourages folks to participate in their favorite activities and raise money and awareness for the association. Golf is sort of my hobby – so I thought it was the most appropriate for me.”

Bunn’s challenge involved playing as much golf as possible between sunrise and sundown at Lexington Golf & Country Club, accepting straight donations or pledges based on the number or result of holes played. He chose to perform on June 19 rather than June 21 since Monday is typically a slow day at most golf courses.

The 2023 Longest Day was the fifth for Bunn, who has raised more than $12,000 for the Alzheimer’s Association. He established a goal of raising $2,000 this year, while setting a personal record for holes played. He achieved both, raising $2,950 thus far with another $300 to be collected. He walked 112 holes, besting his previous mark of 108 set in Staunton two years ago.

Bunn only counted the holes he walked for hole sponsorship, constituting six full 18-hole rounds and four additional holes for his total of 112. He finished the final 14 holes of his seventh round with a cart. All told, he walked 35 miles and an astounding 68,000 steps. His Longest Day was documented by Lynchburg’s WSET-13 during Monday’s news telecast.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, there are 55 million people worldwide living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias. Nearly 1-in-3 seniors will die with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia.

Bunn has been a member of the W&L staff since 2021. He had previously served at the Rockbridge Area Health Center, the Rockbridge Area YMCA and Kendal at Lexington. He earned a bachelor’s degree in health and human performance from Roanoke College and a master’s degree in exercise science from Old Dominion University.

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