The Kiwanis Club of Red Deer’s annual golf tournament will return next week after it was cancelled for the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 57th annual edition of the tournament will feature nearly 90 golfers at the Sylvan Lake Golf and Country Club this upcoming Wednesday. There will be a prime rib dinner following the tournament.
“We’ve always had it on a Wednesday, always at the Sylvan Lake Golf and Country Club. They treat us very well and we don’t anticipate going anywhere else,” said Gerry Stelmaschuk, tournament chairperson.
Stelmaschuk has been a member of the club since 1991 and has been on the golf tournament committee for about eight years.
It’s been a busy three months getting the 2022 tournament together, Stelmaschuk said, adding this is a “major fundraiser” for the club.
“Red Deer has been really good to us in terms of sponsorships. For 18 holes, we have 30 sponsors,” said Stelmaschuk, who has been a member of the club since 1991 and has been on the golf tournament committee for about eight years.
There were 23 sponsors at the 2019 tournament. In past years, the tournament has typically had one sponsor per hole.
A date is already set for the 58th annual tournament next August.
Another source of fundraising that has traditionally been very successful for the club is bingo halls. But that source of fundraising has been depleted since the beginning of the pandemic, Stelmaschuk said, so events like the golf tournament are very important.
The Kiwanis Club, which currently has 37 members provides about $50,000 a year to various causes in Red Deer and Central Alberta. About 80 per cent of the club’s efforts consists of activities devoted to improving the wellbeing of local youths.
Stelmaschuk said the club is always seeking new members.
“Membership drives have been a key focus for the club recently,” he said.
“In order for the work we’re doing to carry on, we’re going to need to attract more people and younger people. We’ll take them at all ages.”
For more information on the Kiwanis Club of Red Deer visit www.reddeerkiwanis.org.
sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com
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