The Smithers Golf and Country Club was the place to be two weekends ago, as the 20th annual Rotary Celebrity Golf Tournament took over the course. Organizers said the event was so popular all the available spots were sold out well in advance of the charity tournament.
“We actually had a waiting list. We were sold out almost a month ahead of time. We had 230 people for dinner, which was great,” said Murray Hawse, one of the organizing committee. “I think it was a huge success. You can always learn a few things to make it better for next year, which we plan on doing, but we’re really happy with how it all turned out.”
Some of the celebrities that turned up to help raise money for the Rotary and the Bulkley Valley Foundation included skier Manny Osborne-Paradis, former NHL players Charlie Simmer, Jim Watson and Joe Watson, silver medal Olympic bobsledder Helen Upperton, and of course, hometown hero Dan Hamhuis from the Vancouver Canucks. Hamhuis travelled the course meeting players, unable to golf due to the injury he sustained during game one of the Stanley Cup Final series.
“I’m just supervising, riding around in the cart to visit the different groups,” he said. “I’m just here for the day. It’s a big thing for the community, it’s the 20th anniversary.”
Hawse said the organizers are already starting to put together ideas for next year’s tournament, including having some sort of opportunity for local residents not taking part in the tournament to meet with the celebrities, most of whom were impressed by what they saw of the community.
“It was well received by the public and also by the celebrities. All the ones that came had a great time and a lot of them have already committed to coming back next year,” said Hawse.
All the money hasn’t yet come in for the final tally, but organizer Bonnie McCreary said over $32,000 was raised through the tournament, the dinner and the silent auction. $16,000 will go to the Smithers Rotary Club, $16,000 to the BV Foundation, and the remainder will be put into a fund to help run next year’s tournament.
“We’re going to be turning some hefty cheques over to the Rotary and to the BV Foundation, so that will be nice,” said Hawse.
At the end of the five-ball, best-ball scramble format tournament, Hawse also turned out to be on the winning team, captained by Craig Delwisch, and also including Angela Wright, Dorian Anderson and Dennis Kosturki.