The La Porte County Family YMCA held its very first golf outing on Friday, September 23. Despite the crisp autumn chill in the air, everyone had a wonderful time competing in the friendly tournament, mingling with one another, and eating some delicious food. The day couldn’t have possibly been any more outstanding.
The YMCA board first came up with the idea for the golf outing event this past spring. The board wanted to find a creative new way to fundraise some extra money to help grow the YMCA.
“We’re hoping to put some money back into the YMCA—we’re hoping to expand and build another building at some point. Coming out of COVID-19 the Y needed a good uptick and we thought that this event would be a great start for that,” said Kyle Rosenbaum, board member of La Porte County Family YMCA.
To make the event as grand as they dreamed, the YMCA partnered with Valerie Levingston and her and her husband’s foundation, Legends Leaving Legacies. Levingston worked hard to reach out to all kinds of different celebrities and famous athletes and get them to come out and help make the event a success.
That’s exactly what ended up happening. All kinds of celebrities and famous athletes were in attendance including Tim Terrell, Cliff Levingston, Travis Best, Mike Wilson, Leslie Johnson, and Mike Ingram. Over 20 teams registered for the golf tournament.
To make the event an even bigger hit, there was a putting contest where players competed to win $5,000. There were also three hole-in-one opportunities in which players could win either $10,000, a brand new boat, or a zero-turn lawnmower.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner were provided. Breakfast featured an array of breakfast items, as well as a very popular Bloody Mary bar. Lunch was sponsored by La Porte’s local Buffalo Wild Wings, and dinner was sponsored by I Street Meats.
As if all that wasn’t enough, there was also an award ceremony to celebrate people’s feats in the golf tournament and a silent auction to wrap up the day.
Despite all the fun, the event was about more than just golf and fundraising. The event was also intended to be educational, and give people an opportunity to learn that the YMCA goes beyond a local gym and pool. Several YMCA speakers came to talk to everyone during dinner about all the wonderful things the YMCA does for the community.
“We want to bring more awareness and let more people know what our mission is. Sometimes the Y is the best-kept secret in a community so we really want to let people know who we are, what we do, and how we hope to impact the community,” said Laurie Halaska, CEO of La Porte County Family YMCA.
Everyone was super proud of how the day turned out. It was evident to everyone that the YMCA and the community of La Porte had accomplished something truly special. Levingston was grateful to be a part of it.
“I’m so glad that this is a sellout, a true sellout, and that the community of La Porte has come together to do this. The least we could do is get some celebrities and some of their favorite players they like watching on TV out here,” said Levingston.
After the success of the day, everybody can’t wait to see how the event progresses in the future.
“We’ve done some events before that have come and gone away, but this is something that we really want to stick to and make a steady event for the YMCA,” said Rosenbaum.
So, you better grab a new scorecard and get your clubs ready because next year’s event is sure to be another hole-in-one.
To learn more about the La Porte County Family YMCA and its mission to give back to the community, visit https://www.lpymca.org/.
