This past Saturday, the calendar read 07/07/07—a date that’s been hyped up for months by superstitious believers as the luckiest day of the year and the best to head to the altar on.
As many others hoped to capitalize on the speculated good fortunes, the local branch of the Royal Bank did, too. They chose the date for their first Charity Golf Classic hoping luck would be in the cards.
And the day proved to be a lucky one as the tournament went off without a hitch while raising thousands of dollars for the “Just Imagine” campaign to purchase a CT Scanner for La Verendrye Hospital here.
Organizer and branch manager Steve Kontzie hailed the event as a great success because of the community’s generosity and the local RBC team’s efforts.
“The response from the community was phenomenal, our team did a great job, and the day was just perfect.
“Maybe it had to do with the triple sevens,” he laughed.
The tournament saw 144 golfers on 36 teams hit the links at Heron Landing for the 18-hole challenge. Each team of four paid a $100 per person entry fee, which was split between the charity and operating costs associated with the tournament.
The golfers also had a chance at winning many prizes in the different contests located at different holes throughout the course, such as closest to the pin, longest drive, most honest team, and best “dressed” team.
After the final pennies are counted and the official tally is complete, Kontzie expects they will have raised between $23,000-$24,000 for the “Just Imagine” campaign—exceeding the initial goal of $20,000.
“The idea of the event was to think big and we are pretty excited to have surpassed our set goal,” Kontzie said.
“We chose the ‘Just Imagine’ cause, in part, because of their excellent marketing campaign and because the entire town seemed to be getting on board with it,” he explained.
“It had a lot of value and is a great thing for this community,” he added.
The day certainly turned out to be a hot, sunny one, with temperatures reaching the 30 C (86) mark on the course.
As mentioned, there were loads of prizes to be won, including a new car from Performance Kia if someone was able to ace the second hole or a $10,000 cash giveaway for a hole-in-one at another.
“We were really hoping someone would drive away in the car or collect the cash prize, but unfortunately it just didn’t happen,” Kontzie remarked.
“We did have someone come close, though, they were within two feet of the hole,” he added.
There also were other contests available for a minimum $5 cost, including putting, chipping, and a blind Calcutta draw.
At the end of the day, the golfers sat down in the clubhouse for a walleye supper prepared by Greg Bruyere.
“The fish fry may have been the favourite activity, I heard a lot of great complements on the fish,” Kontzie noted.
The overall tournament winners were T.J. Nachuk, Brent Tookenay, Kevin Berube, and Larry Beck, who each collected a $100 gift certificate donated by Canadian Tire.
By fluke, the team also pocketed an additional $240 by selecting their team as tournament champs in the blind Calcutta draw (50/50).
Other prize winners were:
•Best poker hand—Sam Bruyere’s team ($25 LCBO gift certificate each);
•Callaway Golf driving challenge—Mitch Perrault (FT-5 Callaway driver);
•Closest to the pin —Sheldon Kelly (round-trip for two to Winnipeg via Bearskin);
•Taylor Made challenge—B.J. Wilson (Taylor Made putter);
•Putting contest—Bob Mainville ($350 cash); and
•Best “dressed”—Team NASCAR
Saturday’s Charity Golf Classic is the biggest fundraising event the local RBC branch has put on to date.
“It was the biggest and most fun event yet,” Kontzie noted.
Such an event requires a lot of planning, organizing, and hard work, and doesn’t come without at least a little stress.
“It stressed me out a lot. There was a lot to do and I feared no one would show up on the day of the tournament,” Kontzie admitted. “Now I can sleep at night because I know it went well.”
Up until last week, not a lot of golfers had signed up for whatever reason. But by Friday, they had all they needed—and even a little waiting list started.
“There were a lot of last-minute registrations but we filled up,” Kontzie said. “I wasn’t too worried as I was forewarned that that would be the case.”
Because of all the positive feedback from the public and “Just Imagine,” the RBC has decided to make the Charity Golf Classic an annual occurrence.
“Maybe we will hold it on 08/08/08,” Kontzie joked.
He added the bank will be accepting applications in January from local charities they potentially could assist in their campaigns.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
