South Florida club managers' golf tourney raises $600,000 for kids' charities

Top Quote Representing clubs of every kind, the Seminole Chapter of the Club Managers Association of America recently held their 25th annual Best Ball tournament, which has included "Marathon Golf" for the past five years and has raised millions of dollars. End Quote
  • West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, FL (1888PressRelease) June 19, 2015 - Florida's Seminole Region of the CMAA (Club Managers Association of America) recently held the 25th annual Best Ball Golf Tournament at Boca West Country Club. The event raised approximately $600,000, of which over $155,000 was donated by Marathon Golf, now in its fifth year as part of the charity tourney. Teams representing country clubs, businesses and everyday golfer reserved a day to play as many holes as possible at one of several participating country clubs in the area with pledges made for each hole. The Marathon Golf portion of the event started in April while over 400 golfers participated the June 7th Best Ball tournament.

    The entire event culminated with a spectacular gala at Boca West where over 800 guests, sponsors and donors celebrated this amazing fund-raising event on behalf of South Florida chapters of a variety of children's charities. This year's gala theme was "Memory Lane," this being the 25th anniversary of this event. The Grand Ballroom took everyone down Memory Lane with gourmet food stations around the room staged as settings of vintage TV shows underscored by live music from the same era.

    As virtually everything for this event is donated, all of the money is given to the charities that include Toys for Tots, The Special Olympics, SOS Children's Villages, The George Snow Scholarship Fund, The Unicorn Children's Foundation, Florence Fuller Child Development Centers and The First Tee of the Palm Beaches.

    During a presentation ceremony at the gala, Jay DiPietro, CCM, tournament chairman and manager of Boca West Country Club, noted, "Our chapter of the CMAA has raised millions of dollars for the kids, and this year's incredible effort is yet another demonstration of exactly how we did it. I couldn't be more proud to be part of such an amazing organization."

    Among his many heartfelt "thank you's" were those extended to primary sponsors Cheney Brothers, Sysco Southeast Florida, John Deere Golf, Daniel Events, Republic National Distributing Company and especially Boca West, who has hosted the event for the last 21 years.

    Meanwhile, Gary Collins, CCM, principal of Master Club Advisors and Marathon Golf committee chairman added, "It was a fantastic year for Marathon Golf - more teams, more money and more fun! The stamina, energy, generosity and commitment of the Marathon Golfers were incredible. Their efforts truly make our community a better place, and our goal for next year is to double this year's money! In fact, a planning breakfast for next year's tournament is already scheduled for next month."

    The team from Addison Reserve Country Club was the top marathon money earner with over $22,000. The most marathon holes played by a single golfer, an amazing 217, were played by Richard Chase of Wycliffe Country Club while Lawrence Zubren and Vinny Alessi from Loxahatchee Club took the hole-in-one honors. All told, a total of 5,480 holes of Marathon Golf were played, with many golfers sinking their putts well into the night.

    Established in 1927, the CMAA is the oldest association for the club management profession with over 7,000 members representing virtually every kind of club, from golf and tennis to yachting, beach, social and military. In the Florida Chapter, all five regions hold fund-raising tournaments. The Seminole Chapter, from Vero Beach to the Keys, is the largest of the five.

    For information call Darlene Wright at Boca West Country Club 561-488-6990. If your club or business is interested in signing up for Marathon Golf next year contact Gary Collins: gcollins98 ( @ ) att dot net.

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