MINT HILL, N.C. — Monday, the Pine Lake Country Club hosted a golf tournament in honor of Ellis Reed Parlier. Parlier was killed in the University of North Carolina at Charlotte campus shooting this past April.
Pine Lake Country Club said the tragic day touched the country club community, as the Parlier family have been members there for years.
In response, the community decided to host a tournament dedicated to the scholarship in Parlier's name: the Ellis Reed Parlier Scholarship Fund.
More than 150 golfers took part in the ‘Chipping In Fore’ tournament in Mint Hill.
The tournament started at 11:15 a.m. Monday, with an awards ceremony, dinner and live auction around 6 p.m.
Event organizers said the 'Chipping In Fore' charity aimed to "provide hope, financial and other support to families and individuals," especially in the Mint Hill and Matthews area.
Reed's parents were at the event and expressed their gratitude toward the community.
"I can't say enough about the community and how they'd come out to support us and Reed," his father said.
His father said they're taking it day by day.
"We all love them and we'll do anything we can to help them through this," one woman in attendance said.
She said it shows a spirit of hope that the Parliers will get through "this horrible time."
The UNC Charlotte crowdfund page for the scholarship said gifts to the fund will go to celebrate his life and interests.
"He was a vibrant, witty young man who will be remembered for his kindness, strong spirit, and being a caring son, brother, friend and classmate," the fund description reads.
Reed's father said the community's support was heartwarming.
"I'm just overwhelmed with the support from the community and our friends and family, it's just amazing," Reed's mother said.