The Bowen Building Centre sponsored the Irly Spring Swing at the golf course that was held Sunday, June 3, at the Bowen Golf Club with 120 playing in the Texas Scramble event. Bob Miller of the Building Centre said that the fifth annual tourney was a "great success" and again raised money for charity.
Miller said the weather cooperated, the course was fabulous and the meal they had together in the new clubhouse was fabulous and enjoyed by some 140 diners.
"The real winners besides the golfers were our charities," Miller said. "We raised over $3500 last year for the Children's Hospital (and) this year...the monies will go to three different youth charities on Bowen."
Money raised this year, he said, was "well over $4,000" but they don't yet have the final figure. The event had 31 sponsors, two-thirds of them Bowen businesses, and there were dozens of prize giveaways. Also included was a silent auction for a Canucks jersey signed by the entire 2011-12 roster and a hockey stick signed by NHL alumni.
Among the winners were Gregor Kaminartz, who won a marine boat stereo donated by Performance Auto, and Vicky Anderson, who won the 50/50 putting contest. The foursome of Larry and Eileen Siemens, Finbar Fagen and the club's own Spencer Grundy won the day on the links. The Siemens are from Still Creek Forest Products, building centre suppliers, who Miller said are "great people and great golfers."
Texas Scramble is an event where the best shot the foursome produces is the shot that everyone plays; the format leads to a more relaxed atmosphere, with quicker play and it gives every golfer the opportunity to contribute to the team's success.
Miller said there were so many applicants they had to turn people down, which organizers find difficult to do. That fact, along with the success of the event, has organizers considering a three shotgun format next year that could accommodate 180 golfers.
Another change is a new name for the trophy given to the winning foursome: the Peter Schmidt Memorial Trophy, in honour of the man who began the Bowen Building Centre in 1972 and built it into the success it is today. Schmidt, a great contributor to Bowen admired by countless islanders whose lives he touched with his warmth and sense of community, passed on May 18.
