19th Hole

Todd Cernohous
Director of Golf
Blackstone Country Club
Peoria, AZ

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Be A Good Neighbor—Help Out Your Community

It’s a wonderful thing when  your course is selected to host an annual golf tournament benefitting a high-profile, non-profit organization. Your role in helping to raise funds that save people’s lives or making everyday living a little easier is a critical one — especially in a tough economy. Plus, the exposure of the course to large groups of influencers can open the door to other tournaments at your club as well as potential new members.

But let’s face it. With 185 courses in metro Phoenix alone, the competition for the blue ribbon events can be stiff.

Arizona’s golfing community is an extremely generous bunch. So, if you didn’t snag a significant tournament in 2012 or if the one you hosted for several years went somewhere else, then start your own tournament to help out your community.

While Blackstone golf course has hosted its share of events benefitting greater Phoenix, I’m a firm believer in helping out the organizations in your own backyard.

In the past two years, we created the Angel Tree Golf Fun Day in partnership with Embrace Teachers Angel Tree charity to raise money for kids in need in the Peoria Unified School District. Blackstone approached the Singleton Moms organization to create a tournament, which was held at Blackstone last March and raised more than $30,000 in its first year. The organization helps single moms and dads who are battling cancer. Because of its success, Blackstone was awarded the Giving Hands Award from the organization last month.

Its success can be credited to the involvement of the club members who initially brought the idea to us. They enlisted volunteers among their peers, they are committed to their community, and they have the ear of local businesses at which they shop or secure services.

As we head into 2012, with an economy that continues to stall, think about the local non-profits that may be trying to figure out how to keep their doors open next year and be a good neighbor.