Final note
Last Writer’s Night inspires sadness, reflection
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RONAN- After 25 years of music, friendship, golf and nearly $150,000 raised in scholarship money for Mission Valley students, Tim Ryan's Writer's Night will end on Friday the 13th at the Mission Mountain Golf Course.
Originally from St. Ignatius, Ryan's family has been in the Mission Valley for six generations. He now makes his living writing songs for country stars like George Strait, Randy Travis and Phil Vassar while living in Nashville, Tenn. A few weeks ago, Ryan started filming a documentary that seeks to encapsulate the real life stories of Native Americans and cowboys through their music. He hopes it will air on either the Travel Channel or the History Channel in the years to come, and wants to create a musical theatre show with the music he's collected.
Ryan said his biggest strength when it comes to this tournament has always been his connections with other artists in the recording industry. This year's Writer's Night lineup consists of six Grammy winners and 10 Hall-of-Fame inductees.
Even with all his success, Ryan never forgot where he came from.
"My wife and I wanted to give something back to the students from Mission," he said.
In 25 years, Writer's Night has raised nearly $150,000 in scholarships for college-bound Mission Valley high school graduates long with an endowment of $100,000. Current St. Ignatius school district employee and 1999 scholarship recipient Adam Hawkaluk said that while the money was great, the best part of the Writer's Night experience was Ryan himself.
"Getting to see somebody who left the Valley and was a success and then came back to show how rooted he was in the community was a great learning experience for someone who is 18 years old," Hawkaluk said.
Twenty-year Mission Mountain Golf Course golf pro Brian Grosswieler said he knew a lot of people would be sad to see this event go and wished he'd been associated with Ryan for longer.
"Tim is a great guy," Grosswieler said. "He's a fast mover and gets things done. The charity tournament he's doing is a great thing."
An opportunity to see old friends, play golf and listen to music in the name of a good cause, Writer's Night has become a staple of summer for many in the Valley.
"What makes our golf tournament so special is that it's like a family gathering every year. Everyone plans their vacation around it," Ryan said. "We have people living in Washington State, California and Idaho who've never missed it."
Ryan said over the years, he's received several offers to move the tournament to a different location where it might have made 15 times as much money. He declined every offer because, "my home is St. Ignatius and Ronan, and I love my home."
Looking back on the past 25 years, Ryan recalled major events rather than dates. His children are now in college, but 25 years ago he and his wife didn't have children. His grandfather was 93 when he died on stage with Ryan during a previous Writer's Night, and both of his parents have passed on.
"You kind of look back and say, 'Man, a lot of time has passed since we started doing this,'" Ryan said.
Childhood friend and father of two scholarship recipients, Lloyd Phillips, said no one wants to see Writer's Night end. Phillips and many others see the event as a reunion for friends and family, a fun night to look forward to and a tremendous help for young college students.
"I know it’s always a sad deal when it’s the last song or story of the night and it’s time to go home," Phillips said. "People would love to stay longer."
