A sold-out golf tournament would mean success for Gainesville High School’s Academic Boosters Club.
The high school is having its first Academic Boosters Golf Tournament on Sunday to raise funds that will benefit academic programs and scholarships for Gainesville High School students, according to Patricia Kemp, president of the Academic Boosters Club and chairwoman of the golf tournament.
It will be at the Gainesville Country Club with registration at 11:30 a.m. and tee-off at 1 p.m. The golf tournament is expected to be four to six hours long.
The tournament will be a shotgun start, which symbolizes golfers starting on all different 18 holes on the golf course, similar to pellets out of a shotgun.
The price is $85 per player, or $340 per team of four, and the golf tournament will be a four-person scramble with each team starting at a different hole.
The price includes Piesanos lunch, beverages, golf, range balls, a free chair massage, an event T-shirt donated by Dragonfly Graphics and a chance to win prizes such as a round of golf for four at Golden Ocala Golf, according to Kemp.
“We plan on making this a fun, yearly event at a top-notch course that golfers want to keep coming back to,” Kemp said.
For 22 years, the Academic Boosters have strived to enhance student and faculty successes by providing financial and volunteer support for the entire school. Its fundraising goal for 2015 is $20,000.
A portion of the players' fees will be covering the cost of using the golf course, but the majority of the fees will be going to the Academic Boosters directly, Kemp said.
Most of the money for the tournament has been raised through sponsorships and donations, with donations ranging from $250 to $5,000 for sponsors. Donations will also be accepted before, during and after the tournament.
“We want the students to see how much the community cares about their academics,” Kemp said. “We also want to show the kids that putting on an event like this, which involves the community outside of the school, is a way to raise funds for an important cause.”
Many students and faculty will be golfing in the golf tournament. Anyone can play in the golf tournament, and it is not required that a player have any association with the high school. The only requirement is wanting to support the academic boosters and the high school students, according to Kemp.
“A lot of the fundraising goes towards sports while academics fall to the waist side,” said Cathy McNamee, mother of a Gainesville High School student. “So it’s nice to finally have a fundraiser that is going to raise money for the school’s academics.”
The fundraiser isn’t just for collecting money. It’s to create awareness about the importance of education while participating in something the community can be a part of, McNamee said.
“Donations come from the heart,” said Greg Klemp, general manager and chief operating officer of the country club. “People don’t just show up to play golf, they show up to support a cause.”
