MEMBERS TO STAGE FOUNDATION’S FIFTH FUNDRAISER
WHEN: Monday, September 16, 2024
WHERE: Portage Country Club, 240 North Portage Path, Akron.
WHO: Approximately 60 Northern Ohio PGA members from 30 clubs and/or facilities.
SPONSOR: J.M. Smucker Company
WHY: To raise funds for the Northern Ohio PGA Section Foundation and six other notable Northern Ohio charities.
MAKE A PLEDGE NOW: 2024 Birdies & Charity >
Keeping with the long-standing practice of giving back to the community, members of the Northern Ohio Section of the Professional Golfers Association will participate in the fifth Smucker’s Birdies & Charity event at Portage Country Club on Monday, September 16.
The Northern Ohio PGA Section Foundation will conduct the event, led by Executive Director David Griffith. All proceeds will be given to the Foundation, the charitable arm of the Section that provides hope and opportunities for those in need through golf. The Foundation will distribute some of the proceeds to several local charities throughout Northeastern Ohio.
The local professionals have obtained pledges from the memberships of their respective clubs to award them for the number of birdies they can make over 72 holes.
In anticipation of this year’s event the participating NOPGA members sent emails to their memberships, posted flyers around their clubs and stood on the first tee to solicit donations.
Pledges were made in flat donations, as well as dollar amounts for each birdie. More than 700 individual donors from 30 facilities contributed in 2023 when the NOPGA raised a record $165,000. That brought the four-year total to almost $500,000.
Kirtland Country Club head professional Mark Bixler and Director of Player Development Mike Pickett were the leading fundraisers. Glenmoor Country Club head professional Meghann Glass-Stem was second with $14,241 in donations and the Barrington Golf Club team of Head Professional Todd Ekstrand, Director of Instruction Todd Casabella and Optimus Golf owner Mark Sierak was third with $13,950.
Individually, Shady Hollow Country Club assistant Ian Haidle led everyone with 35 birdies, raising $3,950. Portage Head Professional Adam Lewicki was second with 34 birdies, worth $12,331 and Stonewater Golf Club Director of Player Development Joe Meglen was third with 33 birdies worth $5,409.
The clubs committing for 2024 are:
Kirtland Country Club, Chagrin Valley Country Club, Glenmoor Country Club, Barrington Golf Club, Lakewood Country Club, Fairlawn Country Club, Shady Hollow Country Club, Club Walden, Westfield Country Club, Stonewater Golf Club, The Golf Dome, Windmill Golf Center, Firestone Country Club, Brookside Country Club, Weymouth Club, Congress Lake Club, Findlay Country Club, Pepper Pike Club, Signature of Solon, Baldwin Wallace University, Alliance Country Club, Westbrook Country Club, NorthStar Golf Club, Trumbull Country Club, Westwood Country Club, Grass Roots Golf, Portage Country Club, Eagle Creek Golf Club, The Country Club, GolfTEC – Northeast Ohio, Mayfield Country Club, and Sand Ridge Golf Club.
MAKE A PLEDGE NOW: 2024 Birdies & Charity >
