The 15th Annual Burch Open - Oct 13, 2025
Registration: 8:30am | Shotgun Start: 09:00am | Lunch: 2:30pm | Awards: 3pm
Hosted at Montgomery Country Club | 20908 Golf View Dr, Laytonsville, MD 20882
Our Cause:
Supporting the Fight Against Cancer
This Year’s Beneficiary
James Alexis
In June 2023, 35-year-old James Alexis walked into a hospital as a healthy, active young man and walked out with a devastating diagnosis: stage 4 colon cancer that had already spread to his liver and was rapidly advancing. Overnight, his world was turned upside down. Through every treatment, setback, and difficult day since, James has held tightly to the two reasons he continues to fight: his daughters, Penelope and Amelia, now in 2nd and 4th grade. They are his joy, his purpose, and the center of his life.
Shortly after his diagnosis, James’ life took another heartbreaking turn when he also found himself navigating single fatherhood. James met this new reality with the same quiet strength and devotion he has always shown his daughters, pouring every ounce of himself into making sure Penelope and Amelia feel loved, secure, and cherished.
Since his diagnosis, James has undergone dozens of rounds of chemotherapy and immunotherapy at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, one of the nation’s leading cancer centers. Once an avid yogi, hiker, and weightlifter who thrived on being active outdoors, cancer has taken away many of the things James loved most. But what cancer can never take away is his devotion to Penelope and Amelia.
Colon cancer is tragically on the rise in young adults like James. It is now the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States for people under 55. For those diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, the five-year survival rate is just 14%. These statistics make James’ fight even more urgent and heartbreaking.
James grew up in Olney, Maryland, graduating from Sherwood High School in 2006. For the past two years, he has been unable to work due to his illness, leading to financial hardship and uncertainty about the future. Through it all, James and his girls have relied on the love and support of his family, who remain by his side every step of the way.
This tournament is not only a tribute to James’ courage, but also a way to support Penelope and Amelia in the years ahead. While it is likely that James will not live to see his daughters graduate, get married, or start families of their own, our hope is that through the generosity of others, they will always feel the strength of their father’s love and the embrace of a community that honors his legacy.
LAST Year’s Beneficiary
Michelle Stallone
The recovery process will be long and tough, but once it is all over, hopefully I can put this awful thing behind me. This is not at all how I thought that my year would be so far, but I am lucky that it is only a year. It has been a speed bump and I will be able to move past it. Fortunately, next year I will be able to look back and say that it was just a part of my journey
Where it all started
Remembering Jason
It’s easy isn’t it? Breathing in, breathing out…we do it hundreds of times each day. We do it without thinking. But what happens when we have difficulty breathing? For Jason, breathing wasn’t so easy.
When his trouble began in 2009, he was constantly short of breath and had difficulties catching his breath. After a several doctors visits, some procedures and a lot of testing, we were informed that Jason had an Idiopathic Interstitial Lung Disease, Pulmonary Fibrosis. This disease caused scar tissue to grow inside his lungs which slowed the oxygen flow from his lungs to his blood. With reduced oxygen flow to his blood, his body did not work as it should. Low oxygen levels and the scarring made it hard to breathe. There was no cure and the cause was unknown. The only option for survival was a lung transplant. After weeks of intense testing, Jason was placed on a lung transplant list.
Jason received a new lung on September 1, 2009 and after several weeks of ups and downs in the hospital, most of that time spent in ICU; Jason was finally able to go home. Although he was never 100% healthy after his transplant, he lived life to the fullest, the best he could given his restrictions.
Jason and his long-time girlfriend Nikki were married in May 2010 and their first and only child, Colin was born in May 2012. Jason was a wonderful father and adored Colin. Luckily, Jason was able to spend a lot of time with Colin for the first six months of his life and was able to celebrate Colin’s first Christmas with him.
The day after Christmas 2012, Jason wasn’t feeling well and was having complications with his breathing. He was admitted to the hospital, where he spent the last few weeks of his life. After a rapid decline in health, Jason’s one good lung was no longer working the way it should and his body began to shut down. After time on life support, it was determined that he would never recover from the damage that had already been caused. Jason succumbed to pneumonia on January 17, 2013.
It was Jason’s chosen time and his journey was long and hard and he fought up until the end. He will be in our hearts forever.
Our job now is to ensure that his son Colin knows who his dad was and how vibrant and full of life he was and how much he loved him.
Colin has now started pre-school and is a very affectionate, energetic, inquisitive, and sweet four year old little boy. He loves Batman, Paw Patrol, and Cars. He enjoys spending time outside playing with friends, riding bikes, swimming, puzzles, coloring and painting.
All proceeds from any events will go directly to Colin for his education.
Remembering Gina
Gina was diagnosed with maxillary sinus cancer (nasopharyngeal carcinoma) on April 20, 2017 at just 39 years old. Gina was having what she thought was excruciating tooth pain and her dentist was adamant about her going to the ER. The physician assistant on staff insisted she have a CT scan of her sinuses in addition to an MRI.
Shortly after, Gina was told that she had a soft tissue mass that started in her sinus cavity and had spread under her eye, down the left side of her face to her mouth and teeth. Gina fought for the next 7 months, enduring several surgeries, chemo, radiation and immunotherapy. Gina passed on November 21, 2017 just before Thanksgiving.
Gina always said that she never wanted anyone to go through the pain she endured, and it was her mission to raise awareness to everyone including medical professionals. It is a rare cancer that is becoming more common.
Gina’s power of positivity shined through in everything she did. Her generosity was known by many through her volunteer work with cancer organizations and her endless giving to others. Her smile and laughter were contagious.
Gina’s Dance For The Cure is a IRS registered 501c3 nonprofit doing business as Gina’s Cancer Fighting Warriors. Our mission is to raise awareness and detection through early prevention, and provide research funding and patient support to those battling oral, head and neck cancers. Breathing, speaking, hearing and sight are functions we rely upon daily. Let’s work together to bring an end to cancer!