By Heather Clower
The Parsons Advocate
Ten teams composed of four golfers each competed in the First Annual Tucker County Animal Shelter Golf Tournament. On Saturday, July 21, the Holly Meadows Golf Course hosted the event that was sparked by the idea of Bob Gutshall. “He is the one to thank for the idea” stated Bailey Stanton, director of the Tucker County Animal Shelter.
Stanton explained that even though a majority of the pet food is donated to the shelter, there are many other expenses that a lot of people do not realize. For example, the monthly vet bills cost the shelter at least one thousand dollars, and that’s just for healthy, regular immunizations. That doesn’t include any special care needed for those who come in sick.
Once Gutshall shared his idea, the team set out to secure sponsorship, which they would like to send out their sincere thanks. Those sponsors include: Sirianni’s Cafe, Jim’s All Star, Performance Auto Body, The Paint Shop, Performance Chevy, Moore’s Farm Service, Diane Hinkle for County Commission, Black Water Bikes, State Farm, Christine and Larry Rozak, Hansford Insurance, and formerly adopted canine, Liesl Gughnour. The Holly Meadows Golf Course and staff, Deborah Chapman, and Tom Gutshall also worked very hard on this event.
According to fund raising campaign volunteer Kim Falls, “This is part of the fundraising for the Tucker County Animal Shelter Run-For-It team. Proceeds will be going towards improving the housing for the animals of Tucker County”. Stanton further detailed what improvements they were working towards, including new flooring for a new intake facility to meet standards for incoming cats. This will be used to ensure they aren’t carrying any harmful diseases that could easily spread throughout all of the shelter felines. They are also shifting focus to the dog shelter that needs to be brought up to par. Stanton hopes to create individual run in shelters so each dog can have continuous access to inside and outside, as well as drains built into these runs to aid in cleaning and hygiene for everyone.
The competitors who attended this year were mostly local residents, or those who have utilized our local golf course in the past. Their intent is to begin earlier next year to spread the word and bring in more people to also help other local businesses in Tucker County. Stanton added, “That’s what it’s all about; being a local entity to work together and bring business to the area”.
At the conclusion of the event, the top four teams were awarded cash prizes derived from the entry fees. The winning team of this first of a hopeful many tournaments consisted of Steve Pennington, Joe Evans, Mike Triplett, and Jack Hymes. The winner of the 50/50 drawing was Mike Cooper. A total of $3400 was made to benefit the shelter and their cause thanks to this event.
The shelter has a brand new website that just launched that offers adoption information, available animals, as well as a new feature, a PayPal donation button that can be used to donate directly to the shelter. Their new page can be found atwww.tcanimalshelter.org. They also can be found on Facebook, and are open daily from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. or by request.
