AMHERST, N.S. — Twenty-five years ago, the thought of having a fundraising golf tournament was something that was foreign to members of the Amherst Chapter of the Kidney Foundation of Canada said.
“It’s hard to imagine it has been 24 years,” Sharon Gould said. “When the idea was first brought to us by our president Rita Stewart 25 years ago, none of really knew very much about organizing golf. I didn’t know one end of a golf ball from the other, and that was the feeling of most of us, so we decided to pass.”
The next year, the idea was brought forward again and the inaugural golf tournament was held with huge community support. This year, the 24th edition of the tournament is set for June 22 at the Amherst Golf Club and will feature a Texas scramble format with registration at noon and a shotgun start at 1 p.m.
The event will be followed by a roast beef dinner and the presentation of prizes.
“Over the years we have had tremendous support from the business community and from the golf community as well,” said Gould. “I’m amazed it has been a successful as it has been, but the Amherst business community has been behind us from the very beginning and it has expanded to include businesses outside Amherst and outside the province.”
Cumberland Honda, Taylor Ford Amherst and Amherst Toyota are offering cars as hole-in-one prizes while Archway Insurance is offering a cash prize for a hole-in-one.
Last year, 28 companies sponsored holes with signs and Gould said she expects that number to be matched this year while the Atlantic Lottery Corporation has come on board as a bronze sponsor to join Antigonish Farmers Mutual Insurance.
Many area businesses have also donated prizes and there will be several contests including closest to the hole and straightest drive while there will also be a putting contest.
There is also a draw for a new barbecue or $200 worth of lobster.
The tournament is open to 32 teams and teams that registered before June 12 were eligible for an early bird draw for four green fees and two carts at the Fox Creek Golf Club in Dieppe, N.B.
She credits golf club staff for their work in preparing the course and helping measure the holes used for the hole-in-one prizes. She also stressed the importance of the volunteers that come out every year.
“We have a committee of six people, but it takes much more than six to run this golf tournament,” she said.
The event is the largest fundraiser for the kidney foundation.
“The money supports the foundation and when there is a need in our area we work to meet it,” she said. “We have increasing numbers of people in renal failure and with our transplant patients there comes a time when there’s a need for financial assistance. All the assessments are done by a social worker and we never know who’s receiving the assistance. The social work makes the application for financial support for the patient.”
At the same time, money is required for medical breakthroughs and some of the funds raised go to support research when it comes to providing state-of-the art dialysis and transplant research.
Most importantly, she said, the foundation strives to provide hope to kidney patients and their families.
The cost is $75 for members of the Amherst Golf Club and $115 for non-members. The minimum handicap per team is 55 and only one player per team can have a handicap of nine or less.
