It remains an integral part of every journey in life, this quest for a mentor, someone who can provide direction and mold character.

Many have succeeded.

Then there is Cori Britt who owns the copyright to the definitive story of great fortune that occurred by true happenstance and unfolded into a beautiful saga.

You get the chance to have Arnold Palmer as your GPS and confidant? You have hit the mother lode, my friend.

Thirty-six years after first crossing paths as a 12-year-old kid with Palmer, Britt still counts his blessings. “I never lost sight of who it was (who gave me the opportunity),” said Britt, “because he was so humble, so modest. There were no airs with Mr. Palmer. He was so gracious.”

The first intersection of these proud Latrobe, Penn., natives is arguably the best part of their tale. Like all great golf stories do, it began with caddie flavor.

“I wanted a job to make some money, but not a paper route,” laughs Britt. “I didn’t want to get up at 4 a.m. in the cold and rain to deliver papers.

“I started to think, ‘What else can I do?’ ” and naturally, it hit him. “I wanted to caddie.”

Right away, you know the kid has smarts when he chooses to carry a golf bag, not a newspaper delivery pouch, and it didn’t take the owner of Latrobe CC – the esteemed Arnold Palmer – to see the kid’s work ethic.

“By the time I was 16, my job was doing errands, emptying waste baskets, running mail, cutting grass,” said Britt.

The young man became a fixture around the house and recalls with great fondness the family setting with Arnold and his first wife, Winnie (she died in 1999) and the most dignified of assistants, Doc Giffin.

Laughter filled the office at Latrobe and so did frequent visitors such as Palmer’s trusted financial advisor, Richard Connolly of Concord, Mass.

“Arnold saw what a clean-cut, perfect gentleman Cori was, and that young man watched a lot of history unfold,” said Connolly, the conscience and backbone of the Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund.

Indeed, Britt did, because after graduating from St. Vincent University in Latrobe, he called an audible. “I majored in physics and mathematics and I was going to design prosthetics,” he said.

“But I had a conversation with Mr. Palmer and after a few brief moments I decided I was going to work for him.”

Palmer was in his late 60s, but would take on the never-ending requests to play, to draw a crowd, to support a cause. “I would go with him wherever he played,” said Britt, who made visits to Nashawtuc CC in Concord for a PGA Tour Champions stop.

On those trips, Palmer would stay with his financial advisor, of course, and “Cori would take my kids to the movies,” laughed Connolly.

Ah, but Britt’s loyalty and devotion to Palmer, impressive as they were, didn’t overshadow his terrific business mind and his understanding of how special this icon was. Beloved by all who worked closely with Palmer, Britt became vice-president of Arnold Palmer Enterprises and for a wonderful stretch of time life was magical.

Until, of course, it showed its painful side. The death of Palmer in September of 2016 created a void that can never be filled. “I still miss him every day,” said Connolly, and Britt echoes that heartfelt sentiment.

Arnold Palmer Enterprises remains vibrant, from the Arnold Palmer Invitational that was held last weekend, to all the brands that carry his name, to Latrobe CC.

“That was home,” said Britt. “For him and me; we were both born there and we loved it.”

Four years after Palmer’s death, Britt got a business offer that was too good to turn down. He is now a special assistant to Johnny Morris, the brilliant business mind behind Bass Pro Shops and two destination spots in Missouri – Springfield, to visit headquarters and partake in world-class fishing, and Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgefield with its three 18-hole golf courses, 13-hole short course, and par-3.

“I’ll be returning to my golf roots,” said Britt, who will be more focused on the Big Cedar Lodge Resort.

He and wife Kristin have a 13-year-old son, Max, and 9-year-old daughter, Addie, and you just know that Arnold would be proud of his protégé.

“Just one of the nicest people you could ever meet,” said Connolly.

Asked for a favorite memory, Britt paused and said that St. Andrews in 2015 might be it. The “Champions Golf Challenge” that they hold when the Open Championship visits the Old Course was enough of a lure that Palmer chose to go; at 86, he knew it would be his farewell to “the home of golf.”

Britt’s mention of that day brought a smile to my face, for I was fortunate to be there for Golfweek and wrote this about that scene:

“It was likely Palmer’s final appearance here and while it may not have matched the fervor which resonated that October day in 1958 when Bobby Jones was honored as a Freeman of the City of St. Andrews, it surely was emotional and heartfelt.

“I was in tears going down the first fairway,” said Cori Britt, who, as he always is, was by Palmer’s side. Britt stood on the first tee, set the bag down, then watched Palmer safely negotiate a drive smack in the middle of the fairway.

“How far? Forever, it ran, thanks to that patented right-to-left sling. How’s that? And if you were to be told that Palmer followed with a crisp iron to 6 feet and a center-cut birdie putt, you would want to believe it with every ounce of your heart. You know you would.”

Through tears that day, Britt and I saw it exactly that way. It’s our story and we’re sticking to it.