An editorial by Gary Nager
Every year for the past several, I have tried to help my dear friend and fellow New Tampa Noon Rotarian Valerie Casey with a special charity golf tournament. Although it was previously known as “Tee It Up For Our Troops,” the tournament has always benefited the Fisher House of Tampa (at the James A. Haley Veterans Administration Hospital on Bruce B. Downs Blvd., just south of E. Fletcher Ave.).
But, this year, the tournament has a new name — The Tampa Fisher House Golf Classic — and will again be held at the beautiful Heritage Isles Golf & Country Club, on Friday, November 18. Registration opens at 11:30 a.m. that day (playing spots were available at our press time and can be reserved before that day) and there will be a 12:30 p.m. shotgun start.
Although they still can’t control the weather, Val and her always awesome committee will ensure that whether you’re a golfer or not, you will have great food and beverages available, great silent and live auction prizes to bid on and lots of fun supporting a most worthy cause.
For those who don’t know it yet, there are Fisher House residences on or near many VA hospitals not only around the country, but around the world. They house the relatives of the brave men and women injured while serving in our armed forces. Val, who is from a military family herself and married to a former U.S. Air Force pilot, has always had a special place in her heart for our wounded service personnel, many of whom have given their legs and other limbs and organs in service to all of us.
And, thankfully, she isn’t alone. The tournament has raised tens of thousands in years past and Val says the number of players and sponsors already signed up will ensure that she will be able to donate thousands more this year, too.
“But, the Tampa Fisher House is such a wonderful place, one that genuinely needs this type of financial assistance,” she says. “So, the more money we raise, the more we’re helping these families while they’re here trying to help their loved ones recover.”
The cost to play in the tournament is $125 per golfer, which includes lunch provided by BJ’s Wholesale Club and Romano’s Macaroni Grill, food and beverages on the course provided by Pepin Distributing and an awesome post-tourney awards dinner from Macaroni Grill and the Meat Monkeys competitive BBQ team. Reasonably priced sponsorships also are still available.
To get registered to play, to be a sponsor or for more info, call Valerie at 317-8886 or email her at ValCasey3@aol.com.
Another Neighborhood News On The Web Update!
Since our last issue, when we first announced some of the exciting things we are doing (both as a company and as the primary source of news and information about New Tampa and Wesley Chapel) in terms of increasing our presence on the world wide web, we have already added some great new features.
Senior news writer Sean Bowes has begun posting a “News Item of the Day for New Tampa & Wesley Chapel,” which can either be breaking news you may need to know about traffic or crime in our area; it also will tell you about anything from new plazas being built in our area to New Tampa and Wesley Chapel Chamber Ribbon Cuttings you can attend.
You’ll also find a couple of weeks worth of “Gary’s Neighborhood Blog” entries, which have run the gamut from items that also now appear in this issue, to my “takes” on national sports, reality TV and (in the future), some political musings.
But, marketing director Ashley Knoblach continues to provide our readers and advertisers even more exciting opportunities, including our first-ever on-line promotion for a local shopping plaza, our own Shoppes of Amberly in Tampa Palms. To see how the promotion can benefit you, see the ad on page 6 or visit TheNeighborhoodShops.com.
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