Usually when folks retire, they look forward to their favorite past times becoming full-time, but not this Augusta Gold Medalist.

A passion for a cause that touched his own family led him down a different path.

“A little over 10 years ago, my father died of Alzheimer's. At that time, I made a commitment I was gonna do whatever I can to get involved and help the Alzheimer's Association,” Bruce Flechter said.

Alzheimer's hit Bruce Fletcher's family hard, claiming both his parents' lives.

Now retired, he spends his days working as a full-time volunteer for the Georgia Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association.

“It's been wonderful. It's been rewarding. There's some heartbreak that goes along with it when you meet a lot of the caregivers and families caring for an Alzheimer's patient. I know what they're going through because I watched my mother do the same thing as my father went through it,” Flechter said.

By using his career background in banking and advertising, Flechter has come up with a new way to drum up funds for Alzheimer's.

Surprisingly this self-proclaimed golf enthusiast's new passion is not on the links, but on the water.

He just founded the non-profit Augusta Regional Dragon Boat Association to strictly benefit the Alzheimer's Association.

“It's becoming a true community wide event that could raise a significant amount of money for Alzheimer's. Besides that, it's a lot of fun,” he said.

When he retired three years ago, Flechter says he had no idea he'd be doing this much volunteer work, but he's enjoying every minute and knows his parents would be smiling.

“I think about it a lot,” he said. “I think about what they would have thought about me doing this and how proud they would have been and that really makes me feel good and keeps me going at it,” Flechter said.

The first Augusta Regional Dragon Boat race is slated for November 1st, 2008 in conjunction with the Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk Event at Lake Olmstead.

Alzheimer’s Association Georgia Chapter

Augusta Regional Dragon Boat Association