While some golfers went to the big white tent to get lunch other participants in the annual North Shore Health Care Foundation Golf Scramble worked on their putting. This year more than $30,000 was raised for the North Shore Health Care Foundation through this event. NSHCF donates the money back to the community in the form of grants to area health care providers. All told 128 golfers played on Saturday and 64 played on Sunday in a more competitive event.
If it isn’t a record, it’s close, said North Shore Health Care Foundation president Karl Hansen.
Hansen was referring to the 32 teams who had registered to play in the 22nd annual North Shore Health Care Foundation (NSHCF) two-day fundraiser held Saturday and Sunday, October 7-8 at the Superior National golf course in Lutsen.
While not all of the tabulations are in, Hansen said the event raised over $30,000 for the foundation. Last year the event brought in $17,000 with the 20 teams that registered to play.
So what caused the drastic increase?
“Two members of the board, Michael Valentini, and John Bottger took this on and decided we are going to make this tournament a big deal and they did it, with the board’s help, of course,” said Hansen. “We made several changes that the golfers seemed to like. We cut out the supper and instead Michael’s sister in Duluth, who operates Valentini’s restaurant, catered the event, feeding everybody lunch in a big tent next to the driving range that Michael put up. Some games were added with lots of great prizes, and 16 teams played on Sunday in a more competitive event. Not all of the teams played on Sunday. We will evaluate what worked and what didn’t, but I can tell you there is already talk about growing the event even more next year,” said Hansen.
The air was crisp on Saturday, so golfers, like the couple on the left and the people above on the driving range, dressed to stay warm as they navigated the golf course during the North Shore Health Care Golf Scramble. Superior National didn’t have enough carts so they had to bring a few more on Saturday. All told there were 64 golf carts used on Saturday.
A main staple of the tournament was again the Fenwick family. Each year they come together for a family reunion while playing some great golf and raising money for an even more significant cause. Bob Fenwick, of Grand Marais, and his relatives from the Twin Cities usually sport four or five teams, and they are pretty competitive even if they are laughing a lot. Last year one of the Fenwick teams took top honors.
This year no one got a hole-in-one on the Canyon 5th hole. Last year Grand Marais golfer Barry Pederson took home $10,000 for his ace. Pederson’s payout came from an insurance policy written to cover the popular game of chance a good many golfers attempt during the tourney.
“This is our primary source of funding for all of the grants that we give,” said Hansen.
Since 1995 the NSHC Foundation has given more than $687,958 in grants, which are primarily used to purchase medical equipment, pay for education and pay for training.
The Foundation, said Hansen, is an independent nonprofit organization that benefits health care in Cook County. It helps support the Sawtooth Mountain Clinic, Cook County North Shore Hospital, Care Partners Palliative Care Program, Cook County Higher Education, local fire departments, First Responders and EMTs, all local schools and children’s oral health initiative.
The North Shore Health Care Foundation is 24 years old. It began in 1993 when a half-dozen residents who were committed to improving the health and wellness of Cook County community formed the nonprofit grant-making organization.
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