ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – Sunday night kicked off the first Tristyn Bailey Foundation Golf Tournament Weekend at the St. Johns Golf & Country Club with a cocktail-style gala.
The gala started at 5:30 p.m. with a room full of people eager to support and sustain the legacy of a teen who was dearly beloved in her community.
The array of events spanning through Monday, Nov. 6 is intended to kickstart the foundation and raise money to pursue The Four Pillars of Good Acts (see below), which includes scholarship, victim advocacy, self-defense and self-confidence and education on the dangers of social media.
“This event is wonderful and allows us to showcase the great things that she did,” Tristyn’s father, Forrest Bailey said.
Forrest said the biggest takeaway he would want people to leave with is understanding the different ways that families are impacted.
“There’s a number of different ways that families are impacted. And there’s a number of different ways that our children today face risks and face pressures we’ve never seen before. So really focusing on Halloween, they understand that open dialog and recognizing that we need to make changes,” he said.
The gala includes a live auction, smooth tunes from the Jacksonville University music department, amazing food from executive chef Alexander B. Sapp, and the kick-off of the weekend silent auction.
On day two, it was a fun competition for dozens of golfers on Monday morning for the first Tristyn Bailey Foundation Golf Tournament.
From T-shirts to tutus, Tristyn’s favorite color aqua ruled the day. It was one of the last events to close the weekend to raise money to honor her memory.
“All of the energy, the fun that she had, the support for one another, we see that here today,” her father said. “It’s hard each day to go through and deal with her loss. Yet, we realize that she’s had an impact in so many people. Just in everything that we’ve gone through, we’re sharing her with a lot of people.”
The gathering also included a lunch banquet, cornhole contest, and even a silent auction for golf merchandise and motorcycle raffle.
All money raised will go to the Tristyn Bailey Memorial Fund to support the foundation’s four pillars:
The Four Pillars of Good Acts
I. Scholarship: Tristyn believed in education and believed in her classmates. The foundation will seek to support scholarships for higher education to deserving students who exhibit the qualities and attributes that Tristyn admired.
II. Victim Advocacy: Tristyn’s family, as well as the community, suffered through the criminal law aspects of her death, as well as the experience of high-profile media interest. The foundation will seek to offer assistance to victims and their families, as they walk through the unknown of criminal prosecution and media inquiries.
III. Self Defense and Self Confidence: Partnering with the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Department and local gyms, Tristyn’s legacy will also include providing other children with self-confidence through self-defense classes. Just as Tristyn fought for her life, the foundation wants to teach others how to do so as well.
IV. Education on the dangers of Social Media: An often thought of but never acted on concern, the foundation will assist in the education of parents and children on the dangers of social media. This education will include not just protecting one’s self from being a victim, but education on how not to victimize another.