WS Chronicle

The Winston-Salem Stealers Golf tournament was a resounding success last Saturday, Aug.19 at the Winston Lake Golf Course.  Sixteen teams took to the links raising thousands of dollars for the Stealers and local non-profit organizations.

The sunny Saturday afternoon set the stage for a great day to play golf. The organizations will greatly benefit from the money raised at the tournament, say organizers.  Alvin Robinson, organizer of the tournament, says he was appreciative of everyone that came out to play in the tournament along with the many sponsors who donated food, money and merchandise.

“I am just really happy for all of the support that we received today from everyone involved,” said Robinson.  “The week prior to the tournament there were only eight teams registered but at the last minute all the spots were filled by the grace of God.”

“I can’t thank the players and especially the sponsors for their continued support for our tournament,” he continued.  “We are doing this to help others and that is what its all about.  When I was down and out, I had people give to me, so it’s my time to give to others.”

The winning team for the tournament was Forbush High School beating out Big Brothers/Big Sisters and Cahill & Swain.  Brandon Easter of team Forbush says they were invited to come so they just came out to have fun and give it their best.  He thinks winning the tournament was icing on the cake because the main thing was to help the nonprofits.

“It feels great, and any time you can win, especially while playing golf, is always good for me,” said Easter.  “I feel really good helping out wherever I can, so hopefully this will help them accomplish their goal.”

Robinson says the Winston Lake Golf Course has really been beneficial to the tournament throughout the years.  Winston Lake golf pro Julius Reese says he loves giving back to the community so he was more than happy to accommodate the tournament at the course.

“It makes me feel great from the aspect that I am from Winston-Salem,” Reese said.  “Being that I grew up with coach Robinson and Alvin and the guys and everyone affiliated with a lot of tournaments around here if I can find a way to give back in some way that is a blessing and a feather in my cap.  Everyone eats when I eat, so I’m willing to give what I can to make anybody successful.”

The Triad Trackers are one of the organizations benefiting from the tournament.  They are a wheelchair basketball team that plays their home games at the Gateway YWCA on Saturday’s at 1 p.m.  Team member Dean Smith and others were on hand to witness the tournament firsthand.  He says the tournament will greatly assist their efforts for the upcoming season.

“This tournament does a lot to help us because we are trying to find sponsors,” Smith said.  “We are extremely appreciative for anything that is done for our organization.  We really enjoy participating in these events and we thank those that participated in the fund raising.”

Organizers of the tournament wanted to thank their sponsors, which included: Anheuser Bush, Pepsi, Village Tavern, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Bojangles, BJ’s Brewhouse, CD Harris Company, Mac and Nellie’s, Salem Academy and College, Triad Home Team Real Estate Co., Craft Cleaners and Quander Rubain Trial Lawyers.