The Grey Owl Tournament takes place this weekend for it's 56th year, and this year's event will see a new trophy to commemorate a local man. The Rick Locke Memorial Trophy's been put in place to commemorate former RM of Portage CAO and long-time Grey Owl Treasurer Rick Locke. Preston Meier's on the board of directors for the tournament, and says while the tournament sees people from across Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and the U.S. taking part, there's really a sense of family at the tournament, and that's something Locke played a big role in. 

Rick Locke

"It's really three days of being able to renew friendships, and Rick's really been a big of that for the last 30 years. To have someone local who's been involved in that -- not only a really, really good friend of ours and a guy we golfed with a bunch, but a really upstanding individual-- to be able to have that in memory of him for however long the tournament may last, it's pretty special."

Meier notes Locke passed away just days after last year's Grey Owl tournament. He says Locke's wife Lou Locke's thrilled to see the board of directors put this trophy in place, as there wasn't much that could keep him away from the tournament. 

"She's just one of the best people you'd ever meet, she was really involved and supported everything that happened. She was extremely excited we were able to memorialize Rick in this way. If you knew Rick, on his calendar every year was the three-day weekend for Grey Owl. You could do anything you wanted, but you couldn't do anything on that Grey Owl weekend, and Lou supported that a hundred per cent, and she was extremely ecstatic to be able to see that."

Meier notes it was Locke who got many of the current Portage representatives on the Grey Owl Board involved, and says he was a friend to many in Portage, and through the Grey Owl Tournament.

The Rick Locke Memorial Trophy