By MorinvilleNews.com Staff
Sturgeon County – Area golfers who participated in June’s Sturgeon County Mayor’s Golf Tournament succeeded in more than just keeping par – they helped raise $28,000 for local senior and youth initiatives. County Mayor Don Rigney presented two cheques Tuesday morning, one to West Country Hearth in the amount of $4,063 and the other to the Sturgeon Foundation in the amount of $24,380.
“The exceptional success of this event is a testament to the commitment of local businesses, residents and other supporters for Sturgeon County and its citizens,” Rigney said in a release Tuesday. “The crowd of golfers and organizers enjoy camaraderie as well as the opportunity to support some very important local groups.”
Those important groups include the not-for-profit Sturgeon Foundation who provide subsidized housing for seniors and who operate facilities in St. Albert, Sturgeon County, Bon Accord, Gibbons, Legal, Morinville and Redwater. West County Hearth, this year’s second recipient, operates an affordable seniors’ housing facility in Villeneuve. Funding the two seniors’ organizations is something important to Rigney and the County.
“Our seniors should be able to retire in the community they built,” the mayor said, adding it was rewarding to him to see the two groups receive money from the generous donations of those who participated in this year’s tournament.
Although the golfers who participated this year were equal in number to the 172 who took to the links last year, this year’s tournament raised $9,000 more than the previous one.
Youth Helped
In addition to the funding of the two seniors’ groups, a $2,000 platinum sponsorship from Williams Energy Services allowed 40 area youth to attend the 2011 Stand Up and Feel Empowered Youth Conference held in April. The event focused on building healthy relationships and preventing addiction.
Councillor Karen Shaw was pleased with the number of youth able to attend the conference. “Forty deserving individuals were fortunate to participate in the Stand Up conference,” Shaw said. “During this event, they learned an incredible amount about themselves as well as their peers, and I hope these individuals are motivated to make positive, healthy choices as they head toward adulthood.”
This year’s tournament was organized by the Sturgeon County Economic Development Board
