The annual Health Foundation's Charity Golf Classic was another huge success, raising over $100,000 for the third year in a row, announced Health Foundation executive director Ross Fisher. This year the annual golf tournament at Good Spirit Golf and Country Club raised $105,894, all of which will go to providing equipment to all of the health facilities in the Sunrise Health Region, says Fisher.
Fisher thanks the sponsors and golfers for enabling the tournament's tremendous success. The Charity Golf Classic allows us to raise a lot of money that we can put back into the facilities throughout the health region," he states.
The presenting sponsors, including Mosaic Potash Esterhazy, Sask-tel, LDM Foods Inc. and the Credit Unions of East Central Saskatchewan each contribute $2,500 to help cover the costs of the tournament. As a result all moneys raised in pledges will go directly to fund Health Foundation projects, Fisher notes.
He acknowledges contribution of one of the presenting sponsors, LDM Foods Inc. Three years ago LDM Foods came on board as a presenting sponsor and in addition to their sponsorship, entered a couple of teams in the tournament that aggressively raised money and sit on the organizing committee to help run the tournament. "In that time we jumped from an $80,000 a year tournament... to well over $100,000," Fisher reports.
Darryl Flunder, procurement manager for LDM, says the Sunrise Health Foundation is very important to LDM and its customer base. Health care is a very important aspect of a vibrant community, he adds. "A strong, viable health care system is very important to attracting new people to this region which helps our employees and customer base," Flunder states. The health region affects all LDM staff and their families ad well as the families of LDM's customers. "It's one of the most important foundations to support, in this region, for LDM," Flunder continues. LDM has provided about $42,000 between sponsorships and donations to the foundation over the past three years, he estimates. "It continues to be very important to us," he closes.
This year the event ran a small surplus as budgeted equipment costs totalled $89,600 while the tournament raised $105,894. Fisher says the Health Foundation will survey the golfers to determine what they would like to see done with the approximately $16,000 surplus.
This year the Classic experienced tremendous support from the community with 1,485 people making pledges to golfers.
Business support was no less remarkable with CAA travel which has provided the top prize for the past 10 years, donating a seven day Caribbean cruise this year.
"In the 12 years of the Charity Golf Classic, over $830,000 has been raised and invested back into improving our local health care, Fisher reports.
The Credit Unions of Saskatchewan Top Fund-raising Team Trophy went to the team of Kris Sapara, Kim Sapara, Dave Nussbaumer, and Laurie Fischer who raised $32,215, the most any team has ever raised.
Top individual fundraiser, Laurie Fischer of Winnipeg raised $11,625 to win the seven day Caribbean cruise donated by CAA Travel.
The second highest amount of money raised, $8,275 was raised by Ken Chyz who won a trip for two to Las Vegas.
Dave Nussbaumer raised $5,170 to claim the third prize of a $600 CAA travel voucher.
The 2011 Charity Golf Classic organizing committee of chair, Jerry Jemieff of Autohire, Sheila Johnson of Sask-tel, Don Bruner of Mosaic Potash Esterhazy, Corvyn Neufeld of the Credit unions of East Central Saskatchewan, Jeff Whyte of LDM Foods Ind., John Neufeld and Ross Fisher extends a very sincere thank you to all golfers for their tremendous efforts to raise funds to improve healthcare in the Sunrise Health Region.
