Name: Matt Abhalter
Induction Year: 2016
Category: Career Achievement in Support
Bio: Matt is one of few candidates who could be inducted in multiple categories. In tournament play, he is a 4 time winner of the Rudy Flyer Award and consistently on the leaderboard. In his financial support, he has been a mainstay as a Gold Club donor. But his overall support is what has made Matt a Hall of Fame member. He has recruited friends and most notably – his family members to participate and support the tournament over the years, including his Mom and Aunt who have had a most sincere support for the Classic. Matt also served admirably on the board for most of the Chicago years and provided excellent advice and follow through. Matt lost his father to Cancer in early ’02 and served as the KFM Cancer Classic guest speaker at the following classic in Atlanta. Every KFM Cancer Classic since has hole #1 reserved in Memory of Dick Abhalter. Only months ago, his Aunt Jeri was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Personal: Matt and his wife Kathleen reside in Matt’s hometown of Palatine, IL. They are proud parents of 3 children (Griffin, Grace, & Violet). Matt is a senior manager at Duff and Phelps in downtown Chicago. He is a proud University of Dayton graduate who enjoys golfing on courses that don’t have wooden boards that surround the green. He also enjoys a nice scotch in the evening.
Matt’s thoughts on his Hall of Fame Induction:
“I would like to first thank Kevin for creating such a wonderful event in the hopes of helping find a cure for such a terrible disease. It is amazing to think that a Putt Putt Tourney started by a fresh grad out of Dayton has raised over quarter of a million dollars. As Kevin mentioned I lost my father to Cancer over a decade ago so this event has and will always be near and dear to my heart. I also want to thank my mom, aunt, sisters and brother in laws for coming out over the years and supporting either financially or by participating and hitting balls into oncoming traffic. One of the more recent things about this event is that I enjoy is taking my son Griffin to the last couple. He knows that Grandpa Dick is always the first hole. He is a typical 2nd grader and asks all kinds of questions about Grandpa…..
What did Grandpa look like (easy just like me)?
What sports did he play (He loved Basketball)?
Does he watch over me from Heaven (Of course he does)?
How did Grandpa Die (A little trickier one to explain but I let him know that Grandpa got sick from Cancer and is now up in Heaven)? I then let him know that uncle Kevy’s event is doing everything it can to ensure that no one else gets sick from Cancer.
Thanks for everything Kevin.“
