Golfers hit the links for education

It was two years in the making, but the District 13 Educational Foundation’s first golf outing went off almost flawlessly on June 24.

There was a passing rain shower in the middle of the afternoon, but that didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits, especially those of the organizers who reveled in the event’s success. It raised more than $4,500 for the foundation, the group’s most profitable fundraiser since it was founded in 1996.

The golf outing was held at the Lido Golf Course. There were 44 golfers broken up into 11 foursomes. A few dozen more people joined the group for dinner at the clubhouse, which featured numerous raffles and prizes for the day’s top golfers.

“We had quite a good turnout I though for our first outing,” said Emilie Stris, the outgoing president of the foundation. “I hope it will be an annual outing now.”

Stris said she thought of the idea for a fundraising golf event two years ago, knowing that these outings have raised big bucks for other organizations. A committee, led by District 13 Board of Education Trustee Frank Chiachiere, was formed and the event came together.

Stris said she is encouraged that future golf outings for the foundation will only get bigger and better. Teachers, she noted, had to work on June 24 because of a superintendent’s conference day that was planned after the golf outing’s date was selected, so that limited daytime turnout. Stris said she has no doubt they will participate in the future. “Even though they couldn’t golf,” she said, “we had quite a few teachers who just came to the dinner that night.”

Chiachiere said that the Lido Golf Club was heavily damaged by Hurricane Sandy so he was glad it was able to re-open in time for the foundation’s event.

At his own cost, Chiachiere said he took part in other golf outings to see how a good one should run. His committee did everything from registering golfers to soliciting raffle prizes. “If you’re going to pull off a stunt like this you better have the people that I had,” he said. “I had a wonderful committee of people.”

Stris said that all of the money will go back to District 13 schools. In the past, the foundation has purchased technology equipment, given scholarships to graduating sixth-graders and bought school supplies for needy students.

She in unsure how this money is spent, but the foundation’s teacher liaisons will seek ideas from the colleagues when they return to school in September.

“The Educational Foundation has a long history of generosity that has aided the district financially,” said Superintendent Dr. Adrienne Robb-Fund. “The foundation is a valuable partner and I want to thank them for sponsoring the successful golf outing and dinner, and for all they did for the students during the school year.”