Inaugural HRC New England Tourney a Great Success

Despite overcast skies and a forecast that threatened showers, 100 players hit the links for the first ever HRC Drive to Equality Golf Tournament on May 31.

Held at the William J. Devine Golf Course in Boston’s Franklin Park, the four-person scramble brought golfers from around Massachusetts and New England to this inaugural event. And though the sky was gray and some struggled with bogeys on this Donald Ross-designed course, the wind seemed to push other drives  longer and the mood was bright as numerous teams secured birdies and eagles. Team Betsy Masse, Deb Fabbri, Hope Power, and Teri Burtoft won the tournament with a low score of 62.

Yet beyond the numbers on the individual score cards at the end of the day, the tournament’s biggest triumph was its tremendous success.

“We’re thrilled with the response we’ve received from golfers and volunteers alike,” says Joanne McMorrow, HRC Steering Committee member and chair of Drive to Equality. “To have the inaugural tournament be sold out – and raise twice our financial goal – is more than we could have hoped or planned for. I was especially excited that the tournament reflected our greater HRC community - a mixture of members and members-to-be, women and men, as well as straight allies.”

HRC Drive to Equality Corporate Sponsor Roxanne Pratten, Pratten Design and Construction, talks about why it was so important for her company to get behind this event:

“As a member of the GLBT community, I feel that it is imperative to support the HRC effort, particularly during this pivotal moment in GLBT history. We need HRC to have the means to have its voice heard in California and onward to the rest of the country. My team enjoyed the first golfing event very much, felt it was well organized, and thought it was loads of fun. We look forward to next year!”

Fore!

A full complement of contests out on the course sent a number of talented golfers home with prizes. A few golfers even came close to taking home the hole-in-one prize provided by Boston Volvo. Committee members offered special thanks to the co-host of HRC's "The Agenda" and Boston’s very own Mary Breslauer, who took time from her busy schedule to share the latest HRC accomplishments and areas of focus for the coming months. An increased understanding of the impact of the day’s revenue, coupled with an exciting array of silent auction items back at the club house, prompted some spirited bidding at day’s end. The generous contributions of individual bidders certainly enhanced the event’s total support for HRC.

Thank you!

Of course, any great event comes together thanks to the hard work and dedication of a long list of people, and the HRC Drive to Equality Tournament is no exception, says McMorrow. The generous 2008 corporate sponsors who made the tournament possible were:

• Accenture
  Dreyfus Investments
  McGovern Physical Therapy Associates
  Pinck & Co.
  Pratten Design and Construction
  Salera Consulting

The folks behind the scenes, who coordinated, wrote, and sent all the emails and who stayed up late into the night finessing the smallest details are the members of the Drive to Equality Tournament committee:

• Dan Salera
  Carol Corcoran
  Cathy Burgess
  Teri Weidner
  Pam Hooker

And the ones who made it all come together that day by greeting people, setting up tables, folding and handing out shirts, filling goody bags, and generally making sure everyone had a great time were the band of volunteers:

• Betsy Albee
  Barb Browning
  Beverly Correa
  Kalina Duncan
  Kevin Powers
  Dan Salera
  Kerri McLean
  Adrienne Thomas
  David Wilson
  Antoinette Bryant

A special thanks of course also goes out to Mayor Thomas Menino and the City of Boston for their continued support of HRC and for hosting us at the picturesque Franklin Park venue.

See you in 2009?

Will the HRC Drive to Equality Golf Tournament become an annual event? All indicators point to yes, says McMorrow. So stay tuned to this site for more information, and we’ll see you next year!