Over 16 Grand Raised at Yaks Alumni Golf Tourney

Despite a bit of rain, the 1st Annual Pontiacs Alumni Golf Tournament went “really well,” confirms assistant coach, of the Jr A Pontiacs, Mark Jensen. “Everyone was a good trooper and battled through the rain; it went really well.” The calculators are still working on the final tally, but it appears the tournament raised over $16,000; thanks in part to a large title donation from the Lakeland Credit Union.

Another large portion of the money raised came from auctioning off the NHL alumni, Mark Letestu, Justin Fontaine, and Jon Kalinksi; as well as Bonnyville Golf & Country Club Pro, Randy Gallop. Foursome bid of the men before hitting the links, with Letestu fetching the highest bid of $1000. “We’d love to have them back again next year,” Jensen throws the invite out to the guys. The Pontiacs are looking to host the tournament on the last weekend of May from here on. “If it works, we would love to hold it on the same weekend. If we push it later in the summer there’s a possibility those boys won’t be able to be there.” Playoffs are also a factor; with Letestu and Fontaine active in the NHL, hockey fans would rather the Oilers and Wild be on the ice than the greens in May.

The tournament was a blast, “we just wanted to make this fun! Give out a few prizes for the golfers that did well, and a few for the golfers that didn’t do so well. We wanted everyone to have fun and enjoy themselves, so hopefully they’ll come back next year.”

This year’s event benefited the World Jr A Challenge, taking place in mid-December. “we had a lot of support from a lot of different sponsors in town; especially the Lakeland Credit Union for their title sponsorship. We appreciate all the help we got.” The Pontiacs thank the NHLers who added to the success, and golf pro, Randy Gallop. The foursome that purchased Gallop, Dennis Cadrain Claude Lapointe Gerry Amyotte and Scott McGhie, went on to win the event.

*Photo credit the Bonnyville Jr A Pontiacs on Facebook & Instagram @bpontiacsjra

The World Jr A Challange committee has sponsorship packages available, “we have a massive event coming up in our community. We wanted to use this [tournament] to kick off that world class event. So when our community is on the world stage we show everybody what we’re about.” To sponsor or volunteer contact Mark Jensen at 780-812-0519.

*Photo credit the Bonnyville Jr A Pontiacs on Facebook & Instagram @bpontiacsjra