By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
The tournament will be hosted at the Smoky Hill Country Club, 3303 Hall, on May 5, with registration beginning at 8 a.m.
“For those of you who may not be a club member, this is the perfect opportunity to go play on the beautiful course,” said Hays Chamber President and CEO Sarah Wasinger. “It's an 18-hole tournament, and we have teams of four that participate.
“It's a great day,” she said. “It's pretty all-inclusive. We start at eight o'clock in the morning with registration, and then we'll have doughnuts available and coffee and juice.”
Lunch this year, Wasinger said, will be different than previous years and feature cheeseburgers and hot appetizers through the afternoon.
“Of course, you can't have a golf tournament in western Kansas probably without a few kegs of beer,” she said. “So, there will be beer on the course. And then we have it under good authority that Smoky Hill Country Club will have a couple of bar carts going around. So, lots of fun to be had.”
Team registration fees will be $600 per team or $150 per individual, she said.
“If you want to get a team together yourself that wants everybody to pay individually, we can definitely do that, too,” Wasinger said.
While the event remains a popular annual tradition for the community, it also serves a practical purpose as the largest fundraising event of the year for the chamber.
“It's no secret our chamber is funded by membership dues and non-dues revenue, such as sponsorships and advertising, and things of that nature,” Wasinger said. “This golf tournament actually serves as our largest fundraiser of the year. And to put it in perspective for you, it actually really helps us get about 10 percent of our operating budget.”
The importance of the day to the chamber's operations also creates a focus on developing an event that appeals to a wide spectrum of the community.
“One of our goals to continue to be sustainable in the future is to really just build on this event, which is why we have a multifaceted event,” Wasinger said. “We want to be providing value for our members throughout the year. And this is just one of the more fun ways to kind of get involved.”
Making that goal possible, she said, are Hays Chamber ambassadors and sponsorships from area businesses and organizations, including title sponsor Nex-Tech Wireless.
“We are very involved in all of the communities that we serve,” said Tasha Eichman, Nex-Tech Wireless brand manager and chamber ambassador. “This is just a really fun event. Our entire team looks forward to it every year. You'll see lots of volunteers from Nex-Tech Wireless out and about. … We love supporting them, and it's a great opportunity to interact with other local businesses.”
While event planning continues, she said the ambassadors are in the community soliciting further support from area businesses.
“We've done some really popular stuff in the past,” Eichman said. “The business community has been great about donating and helping us get some great items in our silent auction. So, we're working on that behind the scenes right now.”
“They will be out in full force,” Wasinger said. “So, if you have people contacting you, chances are it's to see if you want to contribute something to that auction. And a lot of people will say, ‘Well, my business doesn't necessarily have something traditional to donate, what should I consider doing?’ If you want to do cash or a check, our ambassadors are willing to go out to some of our other local businesses to purchase items on your behalf. Or we can just do gift cards from other businesses or things of that nature. So, it doesn't necessarily have to be something tied to your business that can be a gift basket full of goodies from other places across town.”
Historically, the tournament sells out, she said, and registration is open now.
"We released that registration form in our newsletter for March,” Wasinger said. “That can be found at Hayschamber.com. We would like to have those in by April 17. … We save spots according to the teams that pay. So, if you're wanting to make sure that your team gets registered, feel free to fill out that form and go ahead and make the payment. We can do that in a variety of different ways. You can do cash, check or credit card, and then feel free to call us at the office if you have any questions. That number is (785) 628-8201.”