People have been asking me my whole life if I like being a twin.  I've always said that I am the luckiest person in the world and how could I not like it.  I had a built-in best friend from the day that we were born.  My earliest memories in life are of my brother Andrew… my brother… my loving, goofy, beautiful twin brother… my best friend.  Andrew had a light shining on him that you couldn't deny.  His presence commanded attention and he thrived in the spotlight.  I loved going to watch him play hockey because he truly shined out there on the ice.

Andrew meant so many things to so many people.  He was an amazing son to my parents, Jane and Tod.  They were devoted to his hockey career and practically lived in the rink for most of Andrew's life.  He was a great brother to me and our older brother Seth.  We were all very close and enjoyed hanging out together.  He was a wonderful nephew, cousin, teammate, classmate, and especially friend.  Andrew was loyal to his friends and family and he was not afraid to argue and get things out on the table but he was always still there for you, even if he was mad (and he could never stay mad long).

My favorite story that my parents ever told us is about how when we were babies, they couldn't figure out why they'd put us in separate cribs and then come back and we'd be in the same one.  Well, it turns out that he was making himself into a little bridge so that I could roll over him and we could sleep in the same crib.  For our whole lives he was making things easy for me like that.  The funny part is that Andrew and I could fight with the best of them but it never lasted long and we would be sick to our stomachs if we were mad at each other… it would eat us apart.

We have this golf tournament to celebrate Andrew's life and his love for life.  Every winter he waited and waited for a nice enough day to get up to Mount Hood and golf with our dad or his friends.  He got to know some of his best friends at Mount Hood.  He loved to play sports and could hardly sit still.  My parents always said that he had ants in his pants.

We all know that Andrew took a wrong turn somewhere along the way and got involved in drugs.  He is an unfortunate example of a good person from a good family who made some bad choices.  We take this opportunity to raise money for local charities dedicated to helping other people who have taken similar paths and are trying to get back to a normal life.  Andrew hated who he became and wanted nothing more than to go back in time and erase the hurt and pain that he caused to himself and the people that he loved.  We can't do that and we all still grieve for Andrew and the life that was wasted but we hope that through the Andrew Dargan Memorial Golf Tournament, we can spare another family from going through the anguish of this kind of unimaginable loss.