The Adam Abrams Memorial Golf Outing, which takes place on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026, honors the life of a young man who lost his life to substance use disorder. Here, his best friend and founder of this golf outing shares more about Adam, his struggles, and their friendship.

By Stacey Winconek

Back in the early 2000s, Michael Markham and Adam Abrams met on the swim team at De La Salle Collegiate High School in Warren. It didn’t take long for the duo to become best friends and experience the highs and lows of adolescence together. After high school, Markham and Abrams attended Grand Valley State University — where they were roommates until graduation. What Markham didn’t realize during their college years is that Abrams, who was studying to be a pharmacist, was headed down a path of substance use disorder.

“It started with Adderall and a little bit of smoking weed in college,” Markham says. “It was just a normal college thing, but by senior year, he started getting into other things. He battled for quite a bit after we graduated in 2012.”

Abrams was not alone in his battle with substance use disorder. In fact, according to the National Library of Medicine, 21% of college students in the United States meet the criteria for substance use disorder, yet fewer than 5% receive treatment.

While Abrams did go to a rehab facility and was rebuilding his life, a relapse ultimately led to his death. “What stinks the most is he got through the hard part. He was back on the up and up with a wife named Brenda, and everything was great,” Markham says. “I never deleted my text message history with him, and I was recently going through it. Our communication was back up the year he died. We were talking a decent amount. He asked me to stand up in his wedding ceremony. He was sending his invites for the official wedding ceremony after his courthouse wedding, and it just never came to fruition.” After a decade of struggling with substance use disorder, Abrams died on Aug. 18, 2022.

“He was probably the smartest person I ever met in my entire life. He had a smile that would light up every room, and every girl loved this guy,” Markham says. “Sometimes you wonder, how does that happen to someone like that? It just goes to show that it can happen to anybody.”

To honor his memory and raise money for the Jamie Daniels Foundation, Markham hosts the Adam Abrams Memorial Golf Outing. This third annual outing takes place on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026, at Rattle Run Golf Course in East China.

The event has raised more than $8,000 for the Jamie Daniels Foundation. The proceeds help to expand prevention and recovery efforts throughout Michigan, while reducing stigma through education, awareness, and resources for individuals and families impacted by this disease.

“The one thing I like about the Jamie Daniels Foundation is they talk about the stigma of substance use disorder, which is a big thing because you look at someone with an addiction like they’re a bad person, but that’s not the case. It’s a disease. It’s no different than cancer,” Markham says.

The Adam Abrams Memorial Golf Outing takes place at 10 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 18 at Rattle Run Golf Club in East China. Tickets are $125, and all proceeds benefit the Jamie Daniels Foundation’s work in youth substance use prevention, collegiate recovery programs, and initiatives that reduce the stigma surrounding addiction across Michigan.