Many parents take for granted their child's first step, first words and the first time they say "I love you."

But for the parents of autistic children, those milestones have even more meaning.

"It's a lot more difficult for a child with autism," said Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Olie Kolzig, whose son Carson, 7, is autistic. "When they finally speak their first word or say I love you, it really hits home. It's an emotion you can't describe unless you've gone through it. There's an unconditional love with these children; they are very special. I'm fortunate to have a son like Carson."

Kolzig and former Tri-City Americans teammate Stu Barnes (Dallas Stars) raise funds and bring awareness to autism with a summer golf tournament -- Olie and Stu's Desert Bash -- at Meadow Springs Country Club in Richland.

The seventh edition of the event, which ended Monday, raised a record $170,000, of which $47,000 was cash donations. The top auction item was a Mexican cruise that went for $12,000. Since the tournament began, it has raised more than $750,000 for the Carson Kolzig Foundation.

The event also had a call for scholarships and raised $8,000. The money will provide 80 families with the $100 tuition for next week's Southeastern Washington Autism Conference at Three Rivers Convention Center.

"It doesn't matter if it's $1 or $20,000, every dollar is vital," Kolzig said. "The big foundations like Autism Speaks are obviously more into the research part of it, where as the Carson Kolzig Foundation is more into the support of families that are affected now and we can help them now. We've got very, very generous people. People who want to do their part. No dollar goes unnoticed."

This year's tournament had a record 34 teams and a record number of sponsors.

Team Individual (Tex Rutter, Paul Presby, Mike Vine, Rob King) won the Players Division with a 226, while Ebb Tide Construction (Ted Ebbelaar, Vickie Ebbelaar, Mike Reynolds, Scott Murphy) was second at 229.

In the Manager's Division, ConAgra 2 (Don Downard, Mark Schuster, Mark Rowe, Mike Metcalf, Mike Kasch) had the top score of 238. The LeMaster and Daniels team (Dennis Loman, Tom O'Brien, Kevin Cox, Mark Olenius, Luke Megna) was second at 239.