PRINT ADS

The second-annual West Salem High School Alumni & Friends Golf Outing will be held on Saturday, Aug. 2 at Fox Hollow Golf Course in Barre Mills.

As in the past, monies raised will go into an endowment fund to help in sustaining the future operations of the Boys & Girls Club of West Salem Area. This year there will be a $500 scholarship to a 2009 West Salem senior; the type of scholarship will be determined by the West Salem guidance department.

The golf outing will begin with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. with registration beginning at 8 a.m.

The cost is $70 per person and includes 18 holes of golf, cart, a lunch and door prizes. Golfers signing up by July 23 will have their name placed in a drawing to win $70; four names will be drawn before the shotgun start.

For those who do not golf or are unable to attend but would like to contribute, they can sponsor a “Phantom Golf” hole for $25. Also, any WSHS alumni class having a class reunion this year and would like to make a tax-deductible donation to this event can sponsor a hole for $100.

“The intent is to make this golf outing fun for all levels of players, so this will be a best-ball, four-person scramble with payouts for first, second, 12th and last place,” said Vicki Miller, who is helping organize the event.

“We’ll also have numerous ‘contest holes’ plus ‘hit the raft’ and a ‘marshmallow drive,’ which should be good for a few laughs.”

And again this year, Brenengen’s Auto Group of West Salem and Sparta and GMAC are donating a new car for a par three hole-in-one.

“If you don’t have enough golfers to form your own foursome, we’ll put you on a team when you arrive for registration,” Miller said.

The idea for having a golf outing to raise money for the Boys & Girls Club of West Salem Area started a year ago when Vicki Jensen Miller — WSHS class of 1964 and secretary of the BGCWS Unit Advisory Council — with fellow ’64 classmates Dale Clements, Marc Ranger, Sharyn Marten Jordan and Betty Dunlap Bahr to discuss ways of raising money for the Boys & Girls Club of West Salem Area.

“West Salem has needed a safe and fun place for kids to hang out for so long and today the need has never been greater,” Miller said. “Now that we finally have this terrific club, I wanted to make sure we (the community) keep it running by holding a summer fundraiser, and I knew that my fellow classmates would agree and want to help.

“So we met and talked about how to raise money and have some fun at the same time, and since Dale is owner of Fox Hollow Golf Course, it was quickly determined that having a golf outing at Fox Hollow for a fundraising event was a no-brainer.”

The first golf outing raised $7,000 for the club, which was considered a good amount considering it rained off and on the entire day. Over 120 local businesses, past alumni and members of the community donated money for hole sponsorships and silent auction items.

The club, which opened July 16, 2007, currently has 515 members with an average daily attendance of 78. Typically there is one day a week when attendance is over 100.

Residents of the West Salem School District will be receiving an informational letter and registration form for the golf outing in the mail in the near future, including a form to contribute to a “Phantom Golf” hole. Registration forms can also be picked up at Fox Hollow Golf Course or the Boys & Girls Club of West Salem Area.

If you know of anyone outside the West Salem School District who would be interested in attending or donating to this event, have them contact Miller at Vicki@vsm5.com or call 786-0338. If you would like to know more about the Boys & Girls Club of West Salem Area, go to www.bgcws.org.