Another Beautiful Day: FCA Raises Over $20,000 at the Champions Invitational
A Great Day of Golf with an Even Greater Purpose
What happens when you bring together 104 golfers, 26 teams, a beautiful fall day, and a shared desire to impact coaches and athletes for Christ? You get a pretty special day!
Our recent SE Michigan FCA Golf Outing at the beautiful R & S Sharf Golf Course at Oakland University was about much more than trying to go low on the golf course. Together, our golfers, sponsors, board members, volunteers, and ministry partners helped raise over $20,000 to support SE Michigan FCA Summer Camps and sow seeds into the SE Michigan FCA Camp Scholarship Fund.
That means more young people will have the opportunity to attend an FCA camp, experience great competition, build meaningful relationships, and most importantly, hear the Gospel and be challenged to grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ.
104 Golfers. 26 Teams. One Mission.
Our 26 teams took on the challenge of Sharf using a standard scramble format, and God blessed us with another beautiful fall day. There was plenty of competition along the way, and Team Palmer came ready to play! Congratulations to Rick Palmer, Cooper Neimand, Josh Baker, and Leon McDonald, who captured the championship with an impressive score of 17-under par. Well done, gentlemen!
But the real win was what happened when so many people came together around the mission of FCA—to lead every coach and athlete into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and His Church.
Stories of Transformation
One of my favorite parts of the day came during our closing dinner program. We had the privilege of hearing from Jackson Allen, Area Representative with Metro Detroit FCA, and Ethan Sandula, Oakland University Huddle Leader.
Jackson and Ethan shared their personal testimonies and talked about the role FCA has played in their spiritual journeys. Their stories were a great reminder of why we do events like this.
Yes, we raise money.
Yes, we have a great day of golf.
But ultimately, this is about people.
It is about investing in coaches and athletes. It is about creating opportunities for relationships to grow. It is about helping people encounter Jesus and then equipping them to use their influence to impact someone else. That is the bigger picture.
It Takes a Team
Anyone who has been around athletics knows that nothing significant gets accomplished alone. The same is true in ministry. I am incredibly grateful for Metro Detroit FCA board members Bob Wingfield, Maria Bartolone Varner, and Carm Bambrick, who helped with check-in, served throughout the day on the course, and assisted with our closing dinner program.
A special thank you and well done goes to our Administrative Assistant, May Boudreaux, who did a tremendous amount of work behind the scenes helping with the logistics that made the day possible. It was also great to have Area Representative Glynn Blackwell participating in the outing with one of his teams. Thank you to Ethan Sox for capturing the day through pictures and video and for putting together our highlight video. Being able to tell the story of what God is doing through FCA is important, and Ethan helped us do that with excellence.
I am also especially grateful for board members Rob Crosby, Tom Gordy, Branden Carney, and Jim Lambrecht, who sponsored teams and played an important role in the planning and execution of the event.
Finally, a huge thank you to Golf Services Manager Ashley Dewling, Business Office Assistant Katie Grund, and the entire Oakland University golf staff for their partnership, hospitality, and assistance throughout the planning process and on the day of the event.
Thank You to Our Ministry Partners
An event like this simply would not happen without generous people and organizations who believe in what FCA is doing throughout Southeast Michigan. We want to recognize and thank our key sponsors:
Event Sponsor: Jim Lambrecht Family
Lunch Sponsor: Craig Meyer, CR Meyer and Associates
Cart Sponsors: Dave Sokol, Wilshire Benefits Group, and Warriors for Christ – Rochester
Swag Bag Sponsor: Ben Rush, Smith Brothers Tool
Hole-in-One Sponsor: Joe Marr, Sandler/EAM Consulting Group
We are also extremely grateful for each of our hole sponsors:
Julie Piccolo – RCO Engineering
Dan Young – BCAM
Penny Davis – Fredrick Jewelers
Roger Norberg – C12 Ministries
Joe Casiglia – Faith Troy
Melba Drew – Auburn Hills Community Church
Robert Antolak – The Gentle Dentist
Steve Barkey – Orchard Ridge Community Church
Dave Halsey – Band of Brothers
Alex Snider – Imlay City Reformed Church
John Morton – Denver Broncos
Kerry Lacy – Prudential Advisors
Lorriane Armstrong – Katrina Goitz Foundation
Jeremy Barkey – Captain's Light Consulting
Chad Peterson – Xelerated Manufacturing Solutions
Josh and Serina Holbrooks – Chick-fil-A Roseville
Thank you for investing in the mission with us.
Your generosity is helping us provide opportunities for coaches and athletes to experience FCA camps and helping make those opportunities possible for families who may need financial assistance.
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Metro Detroit FCA Blog
