HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. – Perfect sunny fall weather delighted all the golfers assembled for the 21st annual Chicago Plast Golf Classic, which was held this year on Saturday, September 7, at the beautiful and challenging Highland Woods Golf Course in Hoffman Estates, Ill.
Word has spread about this popular charitable event, organized by the Plast Pobratymy fraternity, which raises funds to support Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization and Ukrainian youth organizations. Attended in ever-increasing numbers, this year’s outing hosted 66 golfers, mainly from the Chicago metropolitan area, as well as a good number of individuals who traveled from more distant homes around the United States.
Yurchyk
Ladies’ winners (from left): Areta Kuritza, Lida Stankevych, Mary Dykun and Kathy Saldan.
The 16 foursomes competed in a friendly best-ball team scramble format to see which group could combine forces to achieve the best score. The men’s foursome with the lowest score of 7 strokes under par was recorded by the team consisting of Walter Bratkiv, George Domino, Nestor Popowych and George Stankevych. The ladies’ foursome with the best score comprised Mary Dykun, Areta Kuritza, Kathy Saldan and Lydia Stankevych.
The longest drive contest was won by Mary Mycyk in the Ladies’ Division and Denis Pilecky in the Men’s Division. Honors for the closest to the pin contest went to Ms. Saldan for the ladies, and Danko Hryhorczuk for the men. The winner of the putting contest was Dalton Shust of Washington, Mo.
Yura
Men’s winners (from left): Nestor Popowych, Walter Bratkiv, George Domino and George Stankevych.
After the last foursome had turned in its scorecard and the winner of the putting contest had been decided, everyone assembled for the traditional group photograph followed by a barbecue feast and award ceremonies. Some of the golfers were joined by family members and friends who came to enjoy the social portion of the event. All the winners in the various categories of the tournament were awarded elegant engraved sets of glasses to memorialize their achievements. Nobody walked away empty-handed, however, as there were raffle prizes for every participant, including a wine refrigerator awarded to one lucky grand prize winner.
The event was an occasion for many individuals and corporations to make generous donations to The Pobratymy Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization, the designated charity for the fund-raising event. Its purpose is to raise funds to support Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization all around the world, and in particular in North America and in Ukraine, as it matures into a free and democratic nation. The Pobratymy Foundation now has a 26-year history of supporting Plast worldwide, and over that time span has distributed over $120,000.
The foundation recognized and thanked all of the generous donors who contributed to make the golf classic a hugely successful fund-raising event. (A list of the donors appears in a separate advertisement in this issue of the Ukrainian Weekly.)
The organizers of the event, as well as the entire board of directors also thanked all the individuals who volunteered time and effort to make the golf classic a fun and successful event, including: Kathy and Victoria Saldan, George and Areta Kuritza, Andrij Durbak, Andrew Ripecky, Oleh Sajewycz, Joe Mycyk and George Shepetiuk. For more information, readers may visit www.pobratymyfoundation.com.