by Steve Bradley
With the support of over 140 golfers and a basket full of fantastic sponsors, the 2014 edition of the Ed Carknard Golf Tournament was a great success. The event was held Saturday, August 16, at the Hoosick Falls Country Club, beginning at 7 am and ending at 8:30 pm. A good time was had by all. Half of the golfers started in the early morning, with the remaining half teeing off at 1 pm. It was a beautiful day to play golf, with temperatures in the upper 70s.
Hamburgers, hot dogs, sausage with peppers and onions and coleslaw were served for lunch. The evening meal consisted of pulled pork, steamed red potatoes, salad, rolls and cream puffs for desert. All morning golfers were welcome to return for the evening meal. Jeff Babson and his crew, Amanda Lewsey, Dick Smith, Jillian Barlow and Corena Whidden did a great job with the food. Bartenders Donna Trottier and Jeff Gardner handled the bartending duties.
Each golfer received a door prize ticket, and the winner of the door prize, a basket of golfing items and lottery tickets, was Tyler Colvin. Dozens of items were raffled. T-shirts were sold, with the profits being donated to a Town of Hoosick resident who is dealing with cancer. This year, Eileen Bakaitas and Craig Colvin were the recipients.
A highlight of the day was the 50/50 raffle. After raffling off the tickets throughout the day, the total in the pot was $1,000. When the winner was pulled, Greg and Val Bulson won $500. Then, in a wonderful gesture of generosity, the Bulsons refused to accept the money and donated the entire $500 back to the EC Fund.
The EC Fund is a non-profit group that raises money to help Town of Hoosick school age youth participate in sport activities. It was started in memory of Ed Carknard, who passed away at 47 years of age due to colon cancer. It has raised thousands of dollars since its inception in 2006. Children have attended camps, played in the organized sports of Town of Hoosick baseball, Youth Center basketball and Pee Wee football with the help of EC Fund support. Some support is as simple as purchasing a pair of sneakers or cleats for the athlete.
With the 2014 edition of the EC Tournament in the books, everyone is already looking forward to 2015.