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| Golfers prepare to go onto the course for the State of the Heart Hospice Annual Memorial Golf Outing. |
“We had excellent temperatures and sunny skies which made for a great day of golf,” stated Ryan Gathard, Fund Development Director for State of the Heart. “It was gratifying to see so many golfers and to have the involvement of so many sponsors for a very worthy cause.”
Kirk Stucke, Golf Professional for the Mercer Elks Golf Club, said the club holds a golf fund raiser weekly during the golfing season, and the State of the Heart Memorial Golf Outing is the largest held at the course which is on U.S. 127 just south of Celina. “It is very well organized and runs very smoothly,” he added.
For a second year in a row, Integrity Ambulance Service was the presenting sponsor. “We are grateful for Integrity for being the presenting sponsor two years in a row,” Gathard said. “Each year we are fortunate to have the support of so many sponsors from the various communities in our hospice service area” he added.
Wendy Stukey, of Laudick’s Jewelry Store in Coldwater, said this marks the second year that the jewelry store has donated both a man and a woman’s watch as raffle prizes. “They are top of the line watches,” she said, “and are of excellent quality. “It is great for Laudick’s, a locally owned company, to participate and help in such an important fund raiser in our community.”
A portion of the funds raised at the golf outing will go to the State of the Heart Hospice Care Center which has five private rooms for patients. The care center is comfortable and homelike, with a family lounge. The center opened in July last year. By the anniversary date of opening the care center will have cared for more than 160 patients. Funds from the outing will also go to Corynna’s Wish, the new wish granting program recently established by State o the Heart. The program will help patients and families accomplish a wish they otherwise could not financially afford to do.
An important part of the golf outing was a raffle with first prize of a “dream vacation” for up to $3,000. The winner of the prize was Angie Bettinger of Anna, Ohio. “We are so excited about winning the raffle,” Bettinger said. “We have four teenagers, and our family has not had a really good vacation. We are planning on taking one, which will be a first for us.”
The “Dream Vacation” was arranged through AAA Travel, 302 S. Broadway, in Greenville. The AAA Travel office will arrange for the trip for the Bettinger family. Lori Comer, manager of the local AAA office, said, “We are pleased and honored to be part of the State of the Heart fund raiser.” This is the second year that AAA Travel has been involved in the golf outing with the raffle. “We view our participation as a long term commitment to State of the Heart,” she added.
The team winners were: Morning round, men’s team: Fry & Co.; Morning round, women’s team, Karen Gels Team. Afternoon round, Men’s team; Hogenkamp Funeral Home, and the co-ed team was Edward Jones. In addition to Integrity Ambulance Service as the presenting sponsor, other sponsors were:
Diamond Sponsor: Edward Jones;
Gold Sponsor: Spirit Medical Transport
Silver Sponsor: The Messenger Press
Bronze Sponsor: Versailles Health Care Center
Major Sponsor: May Financial Group
Event Sponsor: Leis Realty Co. – Eric Brown Realty
Corporate Sponsor: Medline
Cupid Sponsor: CenturyLink
Heart Sponsors: Village Green Healthcare Center, Brethren Retirement Community, Wayne HealthCare, Greenville National Bank, Briarwood Village, Celina Manor, VonLehman CPA & Advisory Firm
Friend Sponsors: MJS Plastics, Inc., ProCare HospiceCare, The Gardens at Celina, The Gardens at St. Henry, Rest Haven, Greenville Technology Incorporated, Kaup Pharmacy, The Peoples Bank Co., Zechar-Bailey Funeral Homes, The St. Henry Bank, Enterprise Fleet Management
Raffle Prize Donation: Laudick’s Jewelry of Coldwater – Men’s and Women’s Watches
Vendor Sponsor: McGohan Brabender
Supporting Sponsors: Innovative Office Solutions, Diane Evans State Farm, Fry & Company, SecurCom, Osgood State Bank, Hogenkamp Funeral Home
Patron Sponsors: DOSS Business Systems, Qualis, Otterbein – St. Marys, Schwieterman Custom Body Shop, Marty McCabe Painting Service, Williamson Insurance LLC, Northstar Hardware & Implement, Schwieterman Pharmacies, Lefeld Implement, Miami Valley Vending Service, Eikenberry’s IGA, Loudy Office Machines, Fort Recovery Industries, Inc., Goubeaux & Brand, Hanes Law Group, Family Health, Vancrest – Convoy, Vancrest – Delphos, Vancrest – Van Wert, Sarah Jane Living Center
Area Sponsors: Continental Carbonic, Midwest Electric, Troutwine Auto Sales, Hamilton Auto Sales