{"id":170752,"date":"2025-09-21T00:29:06","date_gmt":"2025-09-21T00:29:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/170752\/"},"modified":"2025-09-21T00:29:06","modified_gmt":"2025-09-21T00:29:06","slug":"5th-annual-jack-wheeler-memorial-golf-tournament-raises-money-for-high-school-seniors-awareness-for-drunk-driving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/170752\/","title":{"rendered":"5th annual Jack Wheeler Memorial Golf Tournament raises money for high school seniors, awareness for drunk driving"},"content":{"rendered":"

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. \u2013 Family and friends gathered for the 5th annual Jack Hamilton Wheeler Memorial Golf Tournament on Saturday.<\/p>\n

RELATED: Friends remember Creekside High senior killed in DUI crash<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a story about love, loss, and remembrance. Despite the hardship for the family, they have been able to help students thrive beyond high school.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo loving and friendly,\u201d Winslow and Cat Wheeler, Jack\u2019s parents, said. \u201cYou\u2019d hear him coming from a mile away because his laugh was so huge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other family members said once he got into a laughing fit and couldn\u2019t stop, he\u2019d run out of breath and it became a silent laugh.<\/p>\n

They shared unforgettable memories of Jack at the 5th annual memorial golf tournament held in his name.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe support that we have received from this community is immeasurable,\u201d the Wheeler family said. \u201cThis community lifted us when we couldn\u2019t stand.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2019, Jack Wheeler, only 18 years old at the time, died in a crash. He was a passenger in a car when it left the road and hit a tree. Police said Wheeler was thrown from the car and later died at the hospital. A 16-year-old was driving under the influence.<\/p>\n

RELATED: Drunk Driving: DUI deaths on the rise nationwide<\/a><\/p>\n

The motto they like to say is \u201cLive like Jack.\u201d He was a senior at Creekside High School: he had a 4.3 GPA, was an athlete, and had plans to attend either FSU or UCF. He even told people he was considering being a nurse.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we\u2019re kind of in a way sending Jack to college with all these kids,\u201d his parents said.<\/p>\n

“Live like Jack” is the motto used by friends and family of Jack. (Copyright 2025 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n

Since the Jack Wheeler Foundation was established in 2020, it has awarded over $50,000 worth of scholarships to high school seniors who need assistance with college expenses. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely cool to just kind of see how this has all sustained over time too, it\u2019s all the people that kinda still come around every year and lend us all these hands and everything,\u201d the Wheeler family said.<\/p>\n

The golf tournament held at South Hampton Golf Club raises money, but also spreads awareness for drunk driving and wearing a seatbelt.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of pressure when you\u2019re growing up too, \u2018oh it\u2019s fine, get in the car with someone, they\u2019ve only had a couple of drinks,\u2019 but don\u2019t be afraid to speak up and listen to that voice in the back of your head like, \u2018oh, I don\u2019t think this is safe,\u2019\u201d the parents said. <\/p>\n

Beyond the accomplishments, he was loved deeply by his friends and family, and he was known as a respectful, compassionate, and outgoing kid.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t drink and drive,\u201d they said. \u201cDon\u2019t do it. If our message and our philanthropy can save one life and spare one family, from this kind of ordeal, then mission accomplished.\u201d<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to donate to the event.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2025 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. \u2013 Family and friends gathered for the 5th annual Jack Hamilton Wheeler Memorial Golf…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":170753,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[102328,427,102327,99],"class_list":["post-170752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-creekside-high","tag-golf","tag-jack-wheeler","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170752","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=170752"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170752\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/170753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=170752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=170752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=170752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}