With Green Hope’s athletics booming and some big wins rolling in, a major out-of-school sporting event has come into the limelight. Green Hope’s Athletic Booster Club recently set up a golf tournament to raise money for Green Hope’s athletic programs. Golfers could play at Prestonwood Country Club without having to have a membership, and all proceeds went towards the booster club.
The GH Falcon spoke with Anita McClernon, the president of the Athletic Booster Club, to discuss the setup and success of this tournament. She talked through the significance of the location, saying, “Last year, when the idea of hosting a golf tournament was born, we didn’t even consider having the event anywhere else. Prestonwood Country Club is the home course for both [Green Hope] golf teams and has always been very supportive of our programs.” Prestonwood was the clear choice, and from there, the tournament was born.
The setup required lots of hard work, but the Athletic Booster Club was up to the task. McClernon described the process of setting up this event, saying, “We had to choose the event day and secure the venue. Then, we had to create our corporate sponsor packages and start talking to potential large donors. Early on, I had to recruit committee members and finalize the contract with the golf course. It was also important to create a detailed budget and decide on pricing for the event. Our team developed a marketing plan and built a database of golfers.” Before they could even start planning the tournament itself, the club put in immense effort and careful planning to ensure everything ran smoothly.
As the date approached, McClernon and the rest of the club set up the plan for the format of the tournament to make sure the golfers had a great time. “We made flyers for the event with specific details and outlined our advertising plans and registration process. As the date of the tournament got close, we started soliciting for event day raffle items and decided on items to include in the swag bags that were given to each player in the tournament. We finalized games and contests and created signs and banners. The week leading up to the event was spent organizing the final pairings for the event and ordering food and beverages. Finally, in the early morning of the event, the team set up and enjoyed seeing all of their effort come together for a great day.” The booster club enjoyed the fruits of their labor seeing the success of the tournament.
The tournament couldn’t have been the accomplishment it was without the booster club members and volunteers who put in countless hours and tons of effort. McClernon cited some of the people who helped make the tournament a success: “We had a great team of booster club volunteers and team parents. Meghan Arndts, Jim Arndts, Becci Mongi, Wendi Lester, Kathleen Seifert, Katie Dean, Regina Kaiser and Chris Valentine all pitched in to work on securing sponsorships, raffle items, registration website, food and beverage donations, event day signage and social media advertising. I also worked closely with Tony Mabini, the Prestonwood Country Club Golf Professional and Tournament director to ensure the event ran smoothly.” With the help of this team, the GHABC was able to execute its plan on Monday.
With the tournament set up and ready to go, the only thing left to do was get the golfers. Mrs. McClernon mentioned some of the participants and how they were given this opportunity, saying, “Thanks to our falcon sponsors, bioMONTR Labs and McClernon Real Estate LLC, as well as our family contributors, we extended the opportunity to 20 Green Hope teachers and first responders to participate in the tournament. We also had several other local businesses involved including Linden-Creek, which is owned by Green Hope alumni and Prestonwood native Jessilyn James.” This opportunity for the chosen teachers was a great way to help Green Hope athletics and create bonds within the community.
The tournament was a clear success, but what did it contribute to? Mrs. McClernon went into detail about its purpose, saying, “The tournament was intended to be a major fundraiser for the Athletic Booster Club. It was also a great way to involve our local community and drive awareness of the success of our school’s athletic programs. Raffle prizes were donated by several local businesses including Ed Jones-Wes Seifert, Dr. Addison Aesthetics, Backswing Golf Events, Basic Jane, BSN Sports, Drip Golf, Fleet Feet, STITCH, Trader Joe’s and Titleist. All funds raised will be used to support Green Hopes’ athletic programs.” The massive amount of companies that contributed to the booster club is a great sign for Green Hope athletics, who will reap the benefits of this fundraiser.
Based on the sponsorships, participation and fundraising, the tournament was deemed a success. McClernon elaborated on this and discussed some highlights, stating, “I believe the event was a huge success. Everyone that participated had a great time and we certainly hope the school chooses to do it again next year. A highlight of the event was the putting green raffle. This event was run by Becci Mongi and Wendi Lester, who offered the players an opportunity to attempt a three foot putt. Any player who made their putt was entered into a raffle. Ultimately, Mark Pennington was the lucky winner of the raffle and was awarded with a round of golf for a team of four at the Prestonwood Country Club.” The event included fun for everyone and a chance to win big, contributing to the enjoyment.
The tournament also included challenges such as lowest team score, most accurate drive and closest to the pin. It offered prizes for these challenges, to which Mrs. McClernon stated who won. “The “Closest to the Pin” challenge was awarded to Jeff Robinson. “Most Accurate Drive” for men was awarded to Mark Binkley and “Most Accurate Drive” for women went to Janet Upchurch. Each of these winners received a trophy. The lowest team score was posted by our gold sponsor, Linden-Creek’s team filled by Brian James, Brian Simmons, Tyley Browning and Parker Talbert. Their final score was 51 and they each received a trophy and a leather golf head cover donated by STITCH golf.” These challenges and awards added to the fun environment of the tournament.
Overall, through hard work and dedication from members of the booster club, volunteers, local businesses and more, the Green Hope golf tournament was a massive hit with entertainment, prizes and a good time for all of its participants. All while having some fun, participants contributed to making Green Hope athletics the best they could be.
