Getting a Little Dirt on Their Hands

Prior to the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic, Dan Forsman (foreground) took some time to plant some shrubs at a Gulfport Habitat for Humanity house.
James Edward Bates/Sun Herald

April 30, 2010

By PGA TOUR Staff

GULFPORT, Miss.—After the small group planted the last shrub and the last palmetto, Dan Forsman stepped back to survey the grounds at the house in the Connor’s Garden subdivision. Forsman looked at his son Richard, and the two agreed the Habitat for Humanity house’s landscaping looked pretty good.

Forsman then turned to Fred Funk’s 10-year-old daughter, Perri, who, along with her mom, Sharon, was carefully watering each of the newly planted African iris. Perri had been working as hard as anybody, and Forsman told her as much.

“I like to help,” Perri simply said.

“That just summed it up for me,” Forsman said. “What Perri said was so appropriate—the way she said it and that she would actually say it.”

And that’s how the afternoon ended Wednesday at 3709 35th Avenue, with Champions Tour players Forsman and David Frost, in town for the first annual Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic in nearby Saucier, taking an afternoon away from the golf course to help in this subdivision that will eventually consist of 40 Habitat for Humanity-built homes. With the tournament partnering with and donating all proceeds to the non-profit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry that constructs houses for families in need, putting in some time at a Habitat house made sense. Forsman, Frost and Sharon and Perri, were glad to participate.

“I knew a little bit about Habitat for Humanity because I have a good friend in Utah who has been pretty active in it and has been telling me how rewarding it has been for him and his family to be involved,” Forsman said. “And I learned more today. We put our gloves on, we got to work with our hands and it was a neat humanitarian effort. I was really impressed and touched by it all.”

Since 1976, when Millard Fuller and his wife, Linda, founded Habitat for Humanity, the organization has built more than 350,000 houses around the world while providing “safe, decent, affordable shelter” for 1.75 million people.

“We are proud of the way our community has come together to make this (tournament) happen, and we are especially delighted that Habitat for Humanity of the Mississippi Gulf Coast will be the beneficiary,” said Anthony Topazi, chairman of the Gulf Coast Business Council. “This organization continues to serve countless families in our community in helping to rebuild homes and lives.”

Joining Forsman this week is his 25-year-old son, who is taking a semester off from college at Brigham Young University to caddie for his dad. Richard gladly accompanied his boss to the Habitat house for an afternoon of service.

“We got right in there working together rubbing shoulders. I wished we worked this hard on our yard at home,” Dan joked, as his son shot Dad a let’s-not-get-carried-away look.

“When you work with your family and you do something worthwhile, when you get out of your comfort zone and you pull together to get dirt on your hands and clothes, it’s kind of fun,” continued Forsman, who joined the Champions Tour in 2008 and won the 2009 AT&T Champions Classic. “This is hard work, yeah, but it’s good work. And you get the sense of working as a team. You look back at what you accomplished when you’re done, and it inspires you to do more.”

With evidence of Hurricane Katrina’s destruction still around in a city hard hit by the devastating storm in 2005, Forsman recognized the struggles many in Mississippi have had. He also acknowledged the deadly tornadoes that ripped through Yazoo City last week in the northern part of the Magnolia State that killed 10 people.

“There is a great need all around. We need to buoy people’s spirits when they’re down. We all sit comfortably in our homes thinking it’s not going to happen to us. Well, it could happen to us, and if it did, who would we turn to? Who would we trust, and who would we put your faith in to help us? Forsman rhetorically asked. “That’s why I’m grateful for Habitat for Humanity, which sees the need and does more than just that; they want to fulfill that need. That’s a tremendous inspiration to all of us.”

Click on these links to donate or to learn more about Habitat for Humanity of the Mississippi Gulf Coast or Habitat for Humanity International