Rotary Paeroa is getting ready to tee off for its inaugural Charity Golf Day event on May 3 at the Paeroa Golf Club.
All funds raised would go towards supporting the community with a “strong focus” on schools, president of Rotary Paeroa Kelvin Ricketts told The Profile.
“We have a very close relationship with Paeroa College, where we contributed to students taking the RYDA drive training course and as a regular supporter of The Thrive Trust.”
The club also supported and had a growing relationship with Paeroa Central School, he said. “As needs arise in the community we will endeavour to support that need.”
The event will also be supported by Hauraki District Mayor Toby Adams and former Mayor John Tregidga, who plans to compete in the charity event.
Due to the Paeroa Golf Club allowing free use of their facilities for the golf event, the entry price for people and teams would be “really, really cheap”, Kelvin said.
Interested punters can enter a mixed team of three for Ambrose style golf for $100 per team, or $35 per player for single stableford if there are individuals who want to play on their own. There will be prizes for things such as the longest drive, a range of raffles and auctions too.
While he was confident it would be a good day, Kelvin also acknowledged it would be the first of its kind for the club.
“There will probably be mistakes. We’ll probably get a couple of things wrong, but we’re going to learn from it and improve it for next year. You’ve got to break eggs to make omelettes,” he said. “We’ve just got to get these things together. It’s all new to us.”
One thing’s for sure, the club was keen to “make a statement” in the community, he said. “The focus is that we want younger members. We’ve got young members, we’ve got people now under 50 [and] We’ve got other members coming in.”
“By doing these things in the community, like the golf day, I want to prove that Rotary doesn’t have secrets. We’re not all boring old farts. Hence, we did the Santa Parade that we’ve never done before.
“We had the kids from [Paeroa] Central School on our Santa Parade, on our float. So [we’re] really trying to prove that we are active in the community,” he said.
“We put a lot of money back in the community every year. We’ve got people coming to join us and help us.”
DETAILS: Rotary Paeroa Charity Golf Day on May 3 at 10am, Paeroa Golf Club, 524 Rotokohu Rd, Paeroa. To register, email Paeroagolf2@gmail.com. For enquiries, contact Kelvin Ricketts on 021 612 984.
By DAVIDDA HIKATANGATA
