Golfers enjoyed both weather and competition at the seventh annual Take It Easy Golf outing that raised $4,500 for the John M. Jackson Memorial Scholarship at the School of Journalism.

Winners at the July 28 event at the Links Golf Club in New Palestine were Chad Seibert, Greg Gumberts, Gary Spilker and Jason "Mookie" Smith, but organizer J.R. Ross, B.A.J. '96, says the scholarship effort made everyone a winner.

"Our main reason for starting the outing was to pump more money into John's scholarship and raise its profile," he said of his friend and scholarship namesake. Jackson was a journalism student and former Indiana Daily Student editor in chief who died in the spring of his senior year of a brain aneurysm. "A very close second was our desire to get together once a year to celebrate John's life and keep his memory alive."

The golf outing proceeds have helped the scholarship grow. In 1998, the scholarship was worth $200. This spring, Jackson scholarship winner senior Trevor Brown was awarded $3,000.

Increasing the award has been a goal, and Ross said the organizers have tried to adapt the outing to attract more players.

"We've tried to make adjustments each year to the outing to make it more fun for those who play and to add a little something in to keep their interest," he said in an e-mail.

Another change has been in the post-golf activities.

"For the first two outings, we all stayed up too late the night before at Nick's and headed right back out to Kirkwood after the outings were over," Ross said. "Now, we're in bed a lot earlier the night before and wear ourselves out after the outing with our kids rather than 'Sink the Biz.'

"But we still tell a lot of stories about John and wouldn't trade the weekend for anything. It helps all of us stay connected, allows us to give something back to IU and, most importantly, keep John's memory alive."