Taylor Burgstahler Memorial Golf Tournament

Please see it in your hearts to attend our next fund raising event which will be the 3rd Annual Taylor Burgstahler Memorial Golf Tournament. 

We will also have an large silent auction during dinner!

It will be held on October 16th, 2008. 

We could really use your friendship and support.

We make no money on the golfers, we only make money on the donated items that are auctioned off. Please donate to help a child.

       Taylor “Iceburg” Burgstahler drowned on July 17, 2005 when he lost his footing while hiking  in Tonto National Forest and tumbled over 100 yards, hit his head and fell 30 feet into the Blue Ridge Reservoir near Flagstaff, Arizona.  He was on an overnight camping trip with two friends, on his last weekend in
Arizona before moving with his family to Pittsburgh, PA. 

Taylor William Burgstahler was known by many as the “kid who could get along with everyone,” according to several of his friends.  A junior at Desert Mountain High School in Scottsdale, Arizona he excelled in both academics and athletics. 

Taylor was an outstanding scholar who was enrolled in the International Baccalaureate Program (a highly rigorous academic program recognized throughout the world) at DMHS.  He was also the Junior Class President and an elected member of the Student Government where he helped to develop the schools extracurricular activity programs (such as Wolfstock,Sultans of Rock, prom, Rock Revelation,and Battle of the Bands) and to promote school spirit within Desert Mountain high school.



Taylor also played JV and Varsity basketball at Desert Mountain High School and had been a team Captain. Taylor was known for his eclectic tastes in music and played the drums on occasion.  He loved to expose his friends to various types of music.  Everything from the obscure Aquabats, to SKA, country, Christian, Klezmer,  Frank Sinatra and rap.
Taylor volunteered his services to the American Red Cross, several fund raising walks, and coached a youth basketball program at
the Boys and Girls Club of Scottsdale, Arizona.

He recently scored in the TOP 5 percent on the new SAT and had several top universities showing interest in awarding him scholarships. Although he had discussed the possibility of attending a smaller school so that he could play basketball for the university. He had recently returned from the 2005 American Legion Arizona Boys State at NAU where he had been elected Senator of Hunt County. Taylor was an Ambassador of People to People, and was also recognized as An All-American Scholar of the United States Achievement Academy for History and Government four years in a row.  He was planning to accept his invitation to the 2005 Congressional Student Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C.  He was also asked to attend the 2005 National Youth Leadership Forum on Law in Washington D.C. and the National Youth Leaders Conference also in DC.   
 
Taylor had moved frequently with his family and had learned to make friends fast. Naturally humble, and blessed with a jovial personality and wonderful sense of humor, people were quickly drawn to him. He also attended Maryvale Intermediate School in Cheektowaga, New York, Swift Creek Middle School and The Millwood School in Midlothian, Virginia before moving to Arizona. 
 
Taylor will be missed dearly by his grieving family which consists of his father, mother Lori, sister Brooke, and several aunts, uncles and cousins.  A celebration of Taylor’s life was held for friends and family at The Highlands in Scottsdale, Arizona on July 22, 2005. Well over 700 people attended.
                                                                 
There was also a memorial for friends and family at 7 PM on October 7, 2005 at the Love Joy Gospel Church located at 5423 Genesee Street in Lancaster, New York.  Instead of flowers, everyone was asked to make a donation to the Taylor Burgstahler Memorial Basketball Camp Scholarship Fund. 

He would have changed the world had he lived longer.
Instead, he changed me...

On February 28th, 2007, in remembrance of Taylor, please visit the Angel of Hope Statue at 6500 E. Bell Road near Scottsdale Road. The Angel of Hope is located in The Hansen Memorial Gardens.

We hope that all of Taylor's friends & acquaintances remember to say a prayer in honor of Taylor's 19th Birthday. 

 
If anyone has any pictures or videos (think Spanish, Winget, cell phone pictures, any grade, or even STUGO) of Taylor please let me know.

 A few family members who were unable to travel from distant states celebrated Taylor's 19th birthday in special ways, recorded the images, and sent them to us.  Thank you!

Cousin Celene Nelson letting go of the balloons.  Look, she has angel wings! 

Taylor's cousin in New York,  Brittany Wiesner,  lit a candle and released a balloon with a note attached!

Taylor's closest friends spent the evening lighting candles, releasing 19 balloons and eating 19 cupcakes!

Aunt Sharon in California with balloons for Taylor!

 
Please help us keep Taylor's memory alive.  

Your donation will help send several needy children to an NBA basketball camp,  or and help deserving  kids live a dream. 

Donations are gratefully accepted on a year round basis. Please help us make a difference in a child's life.

Click here to donate:
 The Taylor Fund 

 I would like to take a moment to thank everyone who has so generously donated to the Taylor Fund which will send several needy children to the a professional sporting camp and help send deserving students to college!  Taylor had many passions in life, two of them being the love of basketball and the love of helping those in need.  Being able to combine both in Taylor's memory is such an honor.  

Through The Taylor Fund ( a non-profit organization started in Taylor's memory) we are hoping to continue to raise enough funds to send several needy children to professional sports camps every year.  Each donation is tax deductible and when you donate, you will receive the tax ID number needed for your files.  There is now  a link to the Taylor  Fund website where you will be able to make donations online.  
www.thetaylorfund.com

Thank you for honoring Taylor's memory with your donation.  We hope to continue to keep Taylor's memory alive by living and giving selflessly.  Taylor was a very loving individual and he would be so proud to know that there are  many people who care as much about others as he did.
           THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ARE KEEPING   
    TAYLOR'S DREAMS ALIVE

On 21 August, 2006, the First Annual Taylor Burgstahler Memorial Golf Tournament was held at the Niagara Frontier Country Club.  

With over 100 players signed up to play, the event was a complete success and thousands of dollars were raised. Thank you!

There were hundreds of prizes awarded, many in the form of gift baskets!  Everything from Hank Wagner golf clubs, Adidas t-shirts, Nike gym bags, signed Buffalo Bills memoribilia  to a Moses Malone signed basketball from the NBA.  The highlight of the event was the awarding of several sets of golf clubs and bags  generously donated by TaylorMade.  Nearly everyone at the event walked away with a prize.



We would like to extend a very gracious "Thank you" to the many volunteers that made the day an emotional and financial success. 
 
The entire Burgstahler family for being available and on call during the entire event.  

TaylorMade - One of the finest companies to be associated with, thank you for your generosity.  Your donations are what made our tournament the talk of the circuit.  I am sure our son is proudly looking down on us as he tees off with a Taylormade golf club in his hand. 

This past year has been a very humbling experience for my family and myself.  We have found support from people we never imagined would  have stepped forward to help, yet did.  We have gained a newly formed appreciation for all things great and small, for friends new and old, and for family here and there. 

It is our greatest dream and biggest priority to live up to our son Taylor's extraordinary values.  A young man cut down in the prime of his life.  A young man who had worked hard to make this world a more welcome place.   A young wise soul who always knew the right thing to say and do in every situation.  A human being who brought it upon himself to welcome everyone into his fold.  

We hope we can do Taylor proud by showing the world that we care and that we are here to help to make the world a better place to live.  
Everyone who participated in the tournament, know that you have helped to keep Taylor's memory and dreams alive.  Thank you for that.

We hope we see you all again next year.   
2007's tournament is going to be played at Peak and Peak Golf and Ski Resort  in New York.  

Teen remembered for his smile that 'went a country mile'

His friends now have mementos to remember the Scottsdale boy whose "smile went a country mile," said his dad.

Taylor left for an impromptu camping trip with two friends Sunday afternoon. The three boys were maneuvering down a steep embankment on their way to go fishing when Taylor lost his footing and tumbled into the reservoir, which is about 60 miles south of Flagstaff.

The Coconino County medical examiner ruled Thursday that Taylor's death was accidental and that he died of complications of drowning due   to  blunt force head trauma.

That county's sheriff's office recovered his body 40 feet under the surface late Tuesday afternoon by using a remote-operated robot, Capt. Jeff Drayton said.

Taylor just finished his junior year at Desert Mountain High School, where he was the class president and a varsity basketball player. The family has plans to move in a week to Pittsburgh, where Taylor would have finished high school.

"He was just trying to have the summer of his life because he was leaving this behind," *** said.

Taylor and his friends spent every night together this summer. The group played poker, basketball and video games. They went to concerts, tubed, golfed and sneaked into hotel pools.

Taylor made friends with everyone from athletes to goths; he listened to everything from ska to Frank Sinatra; he wore everything from cowboy hats to the Hawaiian-flowered cap he got at a closeout store.

"Taylor was Taylor," said his mom, Lori Burgstahler.

Taylor and his sister, 14-year-old Brooke Burgstahler, were always close. Sometimes he'd make her put in a couple of dollars for gas money, but he'd drive her places and even pick up her friends.

He was a protective older brother and tried to scare off boys who called for his sister.

Taylor's friends teased him because he ate so much. In fact, they'd just eaten before he fell.

The three boys set up their campsite, made a fire pit and ate before they headed off to go fishing, said Nick Moschetta, who was with Taylor at the reservoir.

They were heading down an undeveloped trail when Taylor started falling.

"He couldn't slow down," Nick said.

Taylor hit a boulder and trees before falling into the water. The other two boys screamed for help.

Taylor's memorial service will be at 7 tonight at Highlands Church 9050 E. Pinnacle Peak Road in Scottsdale.

His family said anyone is welcome. But they ask that everyone wear colorful clothes, not black.