Events industry Golf Day raises £5500 for charities
In the Rough, the Event Industry Charity Golf Day sponsored this year by the NEC and held at the Forest of Arden Championship course near Birmingham, has raised £5500 which will be shared between Great Ormond Street Hospital and Events for Namuwongo.
Despite an early morning of torrential rain and thunderstorms, 76 golfers set out for a delayed shotgun start. With a full complement of Tee sponsors and competitions on many of the holes the clouds parted at the start of what was to be a sunny, warm and very enjoyable event, culminating in 100 players and guests sitting down to dinner.
The day was organised by ESSA with support from its In the Rough strategy group containing representatives from ESSA, AEV and AEO. These were Luke Facey of Alfa Displays, Graham Stephenson of the BDC and Paul MacDonald from Centaur, respectively.
There were inspirational speeches from the charity guests, a variety of fundraising initiatives and a late night casino.
ESSA director Chris Skeith said, “Thunder and lightning are not usually conducive to a day’s golf, however, all of the players battled through to reach the course and after the briefing we were greeted with the sun breaking through for a fantastic day. We had representatives from all parts of the industry – contractors, venues and organisers and a sponsor for every tee which I believe is unprecedented.”