Hannah’s Hope brings community together for 15th Annual Charity Golf Outing
There’s no better way to spend a sunny weekend than golfing with family and friends. Hannah’s Hope invited the community to their 15th annual charity golf outing on Saturday, July 13. The event was hosted at the River Pointe Country Club.
Andy Soley, director of golf operations at River Pointe Country Club, notes that this is a significant event that they look forward to every year.
“This is our biggest golf outing of the year,” Soley said. “They used to host it at the Brassie Golf Club. We have 27 holes here and were able to expand it from 144 people to 216 people. It’s a big day for everybody.”
Arguably the best part about this annual golf outing is the various contests that are put on with extreme prizes. Some of these contests include closest to the pin, closest to the line drive, longest putt, skins game, and par three poker.
“The biggest contest we have is that if somebody makes a hole in one in hole eight blue, they win a new car,” Soley said. “There's a vacation package on one of the par three holes and a $500 gift card as well. The par three holes are the shorter holes and there’s no shortage of contests throughout the course.”
Over the 15 years of this golf outing, the event has only continued to grow. Mike Domsic is fortunate that he’s competed every year and was able to support the golf outing from the start.
“It all started with a great cause for a daughter who had some unfortunate health concerns,” Domsic said. “They’ve done such a great job of running this outing and supporting other kids in the process. It’s the best outing I’ve ever played in and it’s run unbelievably well.”
Having a front-row seat to the evolution of the Hannah’s Hope golf outing, Domsic is a fan of the camaraderie. The expansion of the event in recent years has only made that more exciting for the golfers.
“You have basically two groups on every hole,” Domsic said. “It takes a lot of support. The staff and the Hannah’s Hope organization have made it work every year and that’s a big reason why people keep coming back.”
Mike Martinez, father of Hannah and the executive director and president of Hannah’s Hope, never gets tired of seeing the growth of supporters for their organization.
“I remember waking up the morning of the first golf outing hopeful that some people would show up,” Martinez said. “Fast forward 15 years later and we’ve sold out every single time. It’s truly amazing and we’re lucky to have so many volunteers and sponsors on our side to make this event go. My wife Mary and I, we are more focused on Hannah’s legacy than anything else.”
Martinez notes that everyone wants to help out as much as they can. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Hannah’s Hope Equipment Assistance Program and community projects to make Northwest Indiana communities more accessible.
“We've partnered with the Porter County Community Foundation and we're going to start some funds there that are going to be able to continue our mission to support the special needs community right here in Northwest Indiana,” Martinez said. “It will be different but should still be a lot of fun.”
This means that the 15th annual golf outing for Hannah’s Hope will be the last one. While it has been a bittersweet experience for Hannah’s family and many of her close ones with the golf outing, they’re confident they will be able to continue to have success with the organization moving forward.
“I think it’s the best way to end because it’s the way we started,” said Megan Witherspoon Minter, vice president of Hannah’s Hope. “We’ve worked through Hannah so it’s an amazing day when we see so many new faces come out to support us on their weekend.”
For more information on Hannah’s Hope, you can visit their website.