Elk Valley locals took to the green on Friday, June 5 to take a swing at the 5th Annual Tee Off For Tots charity golf tournament.
Held at Mountain Meadows Golf Course, nearly $11,000 was raised during the tournament, hosted by the Elkford Early Years (EEY) Committee.
“I think it’s pretty special that eight of [the EEY volunteers] who don’t really know a whole lot about golf or golf tournaments get together and do something great for the community,” Jennifer Cherney with the EEY said, adding that all the funds raised during the tournament go towards supporting early childhood programming and events in Elkford.
District of Elkford council members Coun. Ken Wildeman and Coun. Denise Bertrand as well as Director of Planning and Development Scott Beeching hit the green for charity.
“Early childhood development is really important; we want to best prepare our kids before they go to school. By having a simple play group that they can come and be social is the first starting point,” she added.
The early childhood programming includes Mom and Me, Parents/Tot Fun Time, Healthy Start and the Preschool Pizza and Dance Party.
A total of 18 teams registered for the tournament, including local businesses like Finning and SMS Equipment, the District of Elkford and several cleverly named teams like Weapons of Grass Destruction and Awesomeness.
Two $10,000 hole-in-ones were also there for the taking, though no lucky golfers managed to hit them.
Doug Brenner, Jordan Haukaas, Sean Fitzgerald and Kris Lewis golfed their way to the top, claiming the best score with a low gross of 33.
The tournament was followed by a dinner and silent auction, in which nearly $9,000 in prizes were donated from local and other organizations.
Major event sponsors included Kal Tire, Teck, The Free Press and Bearspaw Contracting.