Home|Sports|BFN Golf Tournament set for September 25Sports
Simba FrenchSend an emailAugust 26, 2022 233 3 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email
In a little over a month, local golfers will get a chance to swing their golf clubs for a worthy cause as the Bahamas Feeding Network (BFN) will put on its inaugural BFN Golf Tournament, set for Sunday September 25 at Ocean Club Golf Course on Paradise Island.
The announcement came at a press conference held at the course’s club house yesterday. The goal of the tournament is to raise $100,000, as the BFN which started in 2013, looks to keep its feeding program going.
The tournament is a two-man scramble event and has a $500 per team entry. To ensure that the tournament runs quickly, organizers are putting a cap on it at 124 golfers. Registration is open and forms are available at the website www.bahamasfeedingnetwork.org, and on Better Homes and Gardens MCR Bahamas Facebook page.
One of the attractions on that day is an opportunity to win a brand new Mercedes-Benz car by sinking a hole-in-one on the 12th hole.
Tournament host Mario Carey, a realtor who is also a director of the BFN, said he saw first-hand how deep and great the hunger problem is in The Bahamas. He was not at the press conference but spoke via video.
“ … I felt privileged to join the national initiative which is so much greater than anything that we can do individually. The volunteers, the organization, the management of administrative expenses makes it a model of how NGOs (non-governmental organizations) should operate and the cause tugged at my heart while the management appealed to my business sense,” Carey said.
Carey likes the response that they have gotten so far for the tournament.
Fidelity Bank is the title sponsor and has donated $10,000 to the BFN. Representative of Fidelity Creswell Gardiner was present and said it is their corporate duty to assist organizations such as the BFN with their initiative.
“Over the years, we have always been committed to physical and financial fitness. We understand that the needs are great now during these challenging times for most Bahamians. We know the program, we know the people, and we know their needs. Fidelity is here,” said Gardiner.
Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Mario Bowleg supports the organization’s initiative to use the sport of golf to give back to the community.
“I applaud the BFN under the chairmanship of Felix Stubbs for the incredible work that they do. The food parcels you pack every week and distribute to nearly 100 churches, soup kitchens and feeding centers, is commendable. I commend you for providing well over two million meals since the inception of BFN,” Bowleg said. “Sports is a vehicle that teaches discipline and creates and molds character that allows them to get tertiary education … it is also time to give back. We use sports to give back and this is a form using golf as person like myself and others, that was given opportunities through sports, to give back to those who are less fortunate.”
BFN Chairman Felix Stubbs said that they are expecting a very successful tournament and that they needed to find a way to raise additional funds.
“In order to make meals, we needed to find additional resources. We thank all of our sponsors who supported us from day one. We need to have additional funding and we are looking at this golf tournament. We are looking to raise $100,000 and if we raise that money, we can feed 50,000 additional families,” Stubbs said.
The prize for the winning team is a seven-day Alaskan cruise on Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. There will also be a silent auction with the top item being a three-part sports weekend to Dallas, Texas including box seats to a Dallas Cowboys’ game and golf at a course in Dallas.
Stubbs and his team are looking to have the tournament annually, but in October when it’s cooler. He is urging golfers to sign up early because of limited space.
The BFN currently distributes enough food supplies for 72,000 meals monthly through a network of churches, soup kitchens and feeding centers. Each outlet is responsible to report back to the BFN who parcels went to and how many members of families were fed, keeping track of distribution and ongoing feeding.