PAYING IT FORWARD
Scholarship beneficiary Jim Moriarty has kept on course
‘My goal was to give back. They helped me out. The least I can do is to pay it back and help them out.’
– Jim Moriarty
LOWELL » Money was tight, and as the oldest of nine children, Jim Moriarty’s college dreams were limited.
Enter the Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund.
Working as a caddie at Mt. Pleasant Golf Club and then Vesper Country Club, the Lowell native learned the organization gave need-based scholarships to people who work at Massachusetts golf courses.
He applied. He received scholarship money. His life was changed.
“It made all the difference,” said the 66-year-old Moriarty, who went on to attend UMass Amherst, where he met his wife, Mary, and began to lay the foundation for a successful life, one that has led him to a 21year career at Enterprise Bank, where he is the senior vice president for insurance services. “The people I meet through Ouimet are just absolutely amazing.”
Moriarty’s affiliation with the Ouimet Foundation didn’t end in 1973 when he was a Lowell High School senior and earned the scholarship money.
A firm believer in giving back, Moriarty has been the Ouimet chair at Mt. Pleasant since 1979. Then he became a board member for 20 years.
For the last two years he has served as the president of the Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund. His term will end Monday during the organization’s annual meeting at the Vesper Country Club.
“He’s a leader who will get in the trenches so people will follow him,” said Colin McGuire, Ouimet’s executive director. “He could walk into a room with 100 people and within five minutes he’ll make a connection with 90 of them.”
McGuire praised Moriarty’s leadership during a trying time. Moriarty had the unenviable task of trying to raise scholarship money during the COVID-19 pandemic. That
meant getting creative. That meant too many Zoom meetings to calculate.
“It was crazy,” the gregarious Moriarty said. “Thank God we have a very hard-working staff. It was interesting.”
By all accounts, despite the obstacles the pandemic presented, Moriarty’s twoyear reign as president was overwhelmingly successful.
This year, the Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund will dole out $2.75 million in need-based scholarships to 450 recipients. Recipients, on average, receive nearly $10,000 in yearly scholarship aid to colleges, a lifeline for many. A study showed that one out of four Ouimet scholarship applicants had a parent who lost a job during the pandemic.
The $2.75 million is a record for a single year, quite an accomplishment considering the fund was created 73 years ago.
“I’m ecstatic,” Moriarty said. “I’m just proud of what we accomplished.”
The fund was established in 1949 by friends of Francis Ouimet and the Massachusetts Golf Association. Since then, more than $43 million in scholarship aid has been awarded.
“Boy, he dove right in. He held people accountable,” McGuire said. “He’s loyal. He’s a straight shooter. He’s a person who rolls up his sleeves.”
The Ouimet Fund has drawn admirers and supporters from near and far. Following one annual banquet, golfing legend Gary Player said he was blown away by what he had witnessed. He offered to make a donation. He did. A big one. Before leaving he wrote a check for $100,000.
Francis Ouimet won the U.S. Open in 1913 at The Country Club in Brookline. Ouimet, who grew up across the street from the famous course, became the first amateur to win the U.S. Open title. The major underdog was caddied by a 10-year-old, one of the reasons his win took on a Hollywood-like feel. He died in 1967 at the age of 74.
The U.S. Open will return to Brookline and The Country Club on June 1619.
Moriarty’s tenure as president is almost over. But, much to the relief of McGuire, Moriarty said he plans to remain on the Ouimet Executive Board for at least a couple more years.
“He’s just got so much more to offer,” McGuire said.
McGuire first met Moriarty in 2003 when he was a Ouimet intern. He quickly learned how devoted Moriarty was to the organization.
“I have never known the Ouimet Fund without Jim Moriarty. He’s been the same Jim … willing to do what he can whenever he can,” McGuire said.
The Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund held its annual banquet at Encore Boston Harbor Casino a couple of weeks ago. Broadcaster Jim Nantz was honored. The event drew 1,400 people.
“Thank God for teleprompters. Even my family said I didn’t screw up,” Moriarty quipped.
Moriarty can be selfdeprecating. But he’s serious about the Ouimet Fund and the difference it can make in people’s lives.
After all, it made a huge difference in his own.
“My goal was to give back. They helped me out. The least I can do is to pay it back and help them out. Because of that scholarship I went to UMass Amherst. I was lucky enough to meet my future wife there. And I had a ball,” he said, laughing.
He’s still having a ball. Moriarty first began caddying at Mt. Pleasant when he was 8 years old. The Chelmsford resident has been a member at the nine-hole course on Staples Street in Lowell for 58 years. He has fond memories of caddying. He met people from all walks of life, people who displayed all kinds of emotions. Depending on how they were playing, of course.
“It’s probably the best job I’ve ever had,” he said. “It’s the best job in the world.”