Winston-Salem- Experiment in Self-Reliance held a Golf Tournament Fundraiser on Friday, October 23, 2015 beginning at 9 am. The event took place at Winston Lake Golf Course.

ESR’s Golf Tournament was community fundraiser that aimed to raise awareness about poverty in Forsyth County and to raise money to support the services provided by ESR.

Mayor Allen Joines was present to give greetings and tee off first. Jerry Romans, Vice President at Reynolds American and Vice President of ESR’s board also gave remarks. Chris Bryan, Vice President at BB&T and ESR Board Chair, gave closing comments and participated in the ceremonial tee off. Dan Kornelis, Director of Housing and Community Development with Forsyth County, and Fred Bazemore, Operations Director at ESR and Golf Tournament Co-Chair also participated in the ceremonial tee off.

All players received cart and green fees, breakfast, lunch, and a swag bag. First, second, and third place winners received trophies. Winners also included last place, closest to the pin, and longest drive for both male and female.

First place was the Allegacy Team: Keenia Phillips, Bobby Maines, Kasius Stanley, and Kent Phillips. Second place was the Perkins Team: Jeff Perkins, Jay Carroll, Tommy Thompson and BJ Smith. Third place was Team Roberts: Von Roberts, Charles Butler, and Gene Williams. The inspiration team was the Cobb Team: Virgil Cobb, Alex Cobb, Rick Ferger, and John Carroll. Bridget Greene and Keenia Phillips won Closest to the Pin and Longest Drive for the ladies. Jason Carcache and Luke Jones won Closest to the Pin and Longest Drive for the men.

ESR’s first golf tournament in 2005 cleared over $7,000 with support from community members. This year, the tournament was able to bring in over $10,000. All proceeds will go to ESR’s programs and services.

Bazemore and Bryan were pleased with the outcome of the tournament. “The tournament was a huge success… great weather, great food, and a tremendous amount of fun with the goal of reducing poverty.  With support from our sponsors and all the teams, ESR can continue to help the low-income working poor in our community address poverty within their households.   We plan to have the tournament annually with the expectation of raising dollars to exceed our current program funding shortages.”

“We are fortunate to have great community partners and individuals who provide a tremendous amount of support to ESR. Their participation in the golf tournament allowed us to raise funds in support of ESR’s vision to reduce poverty and homelessness in our community,” said Bryan.

The tournament’s platinum sponsor was Reynolds American and Peterson/Gordon Architects were the bronze sponsors. IL Long Construction Company and the City of Winston-Salem were the emerald sponsors.Toyota sponsored a car for the second hole if anyone got a hole in one. For a complete list of sponsors, see below.

Experiment in Self-Reliance is a United Way partner agency established in 1964 during Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty. Its mission is “empowering working low income and chronically homeless individuals and families to achieve their full potential for long-term social and economic self-reliance. ESR serves the working low to moderate income in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County community and offers the following programs: Self-Sufficiency (education assistance), Housing (assistance transitioning from homelessness to housing), Forsyth Free Tax (free tax preparation), and New Century IDA (Individual Development Account) (financial literacy and matched savings for first-time homeownership). For more information about ESR’s services, visit our website at www.eisr.org.