Monday we held the annual Rotary Club golf scramble. As club president this year, the responsibility fell to me to coordinate the event, get the hole sponsors and teams lined up, negotiate to keep the costs down. In other words, beg.
We only grossed $8400 last year.
In 2000 we grossed $18,395. 2001 was $17,800. Every year there's been an excuse to quit trying.
2001 the tournament was held two weeks after 9/11. We quit asking for money because everyone was sending it to New York.
2002 we were at war in Afghanistan. There's no money out there. Sounds like a good enough excuse.
2003 we were at war in Iraq. No point in even trying.
2004 we were having an election year and the economy was in such terrible shape after two years of war. (of course these people ALL voted for Bush anyway)
The expectations got lower and lower and every year the proceeds dropped--$14,000, $10,000, $8,400. They were sure that the golf tournament was a loser. Nobody cares anymore. Nobody wants to play golf, nobody wants to donate, we need to find some other way to raise money.
2005 rolls around, and on August 30th I was asking for money and getting $1000 sponsors lined up. We had three of them at that point.
Then a damn hurricane hit New Orleans. I was sure our tournament was dead. Surely everyone would send their money to NOLA and wouldn't give us a dime of it. But I kept pushing.
Then ANOTHER damn hurricane hit. Surely there wouldn't be any money left for charitable causes. WE'RE SCREWED! But I kept pushing.
I grew up as a "child" of the Rotary Club. My father was president in 1971. I remember other fundraisers like turkey shoots and horse shows. I remember hosting exchange students from Chile, Japan, Australia and Sweeden. I remember Christmas parties that were the biggest social event of the season in our little town.
The club made a difference in the community. But the best thing about it was that EVERYONE contributed their time. It was just as much a social event as it was a community service project. We got things done for some people who really needed us.
The people who have been running the club lately are in there to make business contacts. Their companies pay the dues, and they get to eat lunch at a nice country club once a week. Occasionally we have a good speaker.
This year I vowed would be different.
We ended up with 5 "major" sponsors @ $1,000 each.
We ended up with 42 hole sponsors. That was a record. $8,400.
71 golfers committed, $6,250
I was initially told that we sold over $300 in mulligans, but was thinking $600. I found out today the official number was $905.
So we ended up at $20,555 which broke a six-year-old record by over $2,000.
Our beneficiaries are some high school students who will get scholarships of $1,000 to $2,500. We wait until after all the other scholarships have been awarded. Then we find the kids who really need it.
There's also a day care center for Alzheimer's patients. So many of our members are nearing "that age" and they're worried that they will end up as regular "clients" at the Center. So we make sure it's going to be a really nice place for them, just in case.
Then there's this place: http://www.biblical-museum.org/ It's completely non-denominational. The chairman is a fine man who is a member of our club. We surprised him with a contribution last week.
We sent some money to these folks, too. http://www.ryanshopeinc.org/
In past years we've sent $15,000 toward polio eradication and $25,000 to our library.
The town has grown from 2,000 residents when I was growing up to over 41,000. Shouldn't we be doing twenty times more today than we did in 1971?
Yeah, it's your typical white bread suburb. Yeah, they all vote republican. Yeah, they tend to exclude more than include. But when they're properly motivated they're capable of changing the world and doing a lot of good and helping those who really need it. I've never been more proud of a group of people, or more satisfied about work I put into something than I am tonight.
That's all the news from armadillo land. Thanks for reading it.
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We only grossed $8400 last year.
In 2000 we grossed $18,395. 2001 was $17,800. Every year there's been an excuse to quit trying.
2001 the tournament was held two weeks after 9/11. We quit asking for money because everyone was sending it to New York.
2002 we were at war in Afghanistan. There's no money out there. Sounds like a good enough excuse.
2003 we were at war in Iraq. No point in even trying.
2004 we were having an election year and the economy was in such terrible shape after two years of war. (of course these people ALL voted for Bush anyway)
The expectations got lower and lower and every year the proceeds dropped--$14,000, $10,000, $8,400. They were sure that the golf tournament was a loser. Nobody cares anymore. Nobody wants to play golf, nobody wants to donate, we need to find some other way to raise money.
2005 rolls around, and on August 30th I was asking for money and getting $1000 sponsors lined up. We had three of them at that point.
Then a damn hurricane hit New Orleans. I was sure our tournament was dead. Surely everyone would send their money to NOLA and wouldn't give us a dime of it. But I kept pushing.
Then ANOTHER damn hurricane hit. Surely there wouldn't be any money left for charitable causes. WE'RE SCREWED! But I kept pushing.
I grew up as a "child" of the Rotary Club. My father was president in 1971. I remember other fundraisers like turkey shoots and horse shows. I remember hosting exchange students from Chile, Japan, Australia and Sweeden. I remember Christmas parties that were the biggest social event of the season in our little town.
The club made a difference in the community. But the best thing about it was that EVERYONE contributed their time. It was just as much a social event as it was a community service project. We got things done for some people who really needed us.
The people who have been running the club lately are in there to make business contacts. Their companies pay the dues, and they get to eat lunch at a nice country club once a week. Occasionally we have a good speaker.
This year I vowed would be different.
We ended up with 5 "major" sponsors @ $1,000 each.
We ended up with 42 hole sponsors. That was a record. $8,400.
71 golfers committed, $6,250
I was initially told that we sold over $300 in mulligans, but was thinking $600. I found out today the official number was $905.
So we ended up at $20,555 which broke a six-year-old record by over $2,000.
Our beneficiaries are some high school students who will get scholarships of $1,000 to $2,500. We wait until after all the other scholarships have been awarded. Then we find the kids who really need it.
There's also a day care center for Alzheimer's patients. So many of our members are nearing "that age" and they're worried that they will end up as regular "clients" at the Center. So we make sure it's going to be a really nice place for them, just in case.
Then there's this place: http://www.biblical-museum.org/ It's completely non-denominational. The chairman is a fine man who is a member of our club. We surprised him with a contribution last week.
We sent some money to these folks, too. http://www.ryanshopeinc.org/
In past years we've sent $15,000 toward polio eradication and $25,000 to our library.
The town has grown from 2,000 residents when I was growing up to over 41,000. Shouldn't we be doing twenty times more today than we did in 1971?
Yeah, it's your typical white bread suburb. Yeah, they all vote republican. Yeah, they tend to exclude more than include. But when they're properly motivated they're capable of changing the world and doing a lot of good and helping those who really need it. I've never been more proud of a group of people, or more satisfied about work I put into something than I am tonight.
That's all the news from armadillo land. Thanks for reading it.
