On Friday, May 20th, Chamber staff, volunteers, and members gathered at the Athens Country Club to participate in the 28th Annual Golf Benefit. An early morning storm caused the event to start late, but the short rain delay gave the teams a chance to connect and get familiar with the course. Once the storm clouds moved out, golfers were able to enjoy the beautiful – albeit slightly wet – course and a great time was had by all.
Of course, the day would not be possible without our sponsors. Many thanks to our major sponsors Hickory Creek of Athens, Holzer Health Systems of Athens, and Wendy’s. And thank you to The Laurels of Athens for providing a spectacular morning send-off spread to the golfers and to OUCU Financial for sponsoring our delicious boxed lunches, which were made by Brenen’s Coffee Café. To see a list of all of our team, hole, and supporting sponsors that we are grateful for, please visit the 28th Annual Golf Benefit event page.

1st Place Team: Carpenter and Associates
Of course, the day isn’t complete without a little friendly competition. The day ended in a tie for first place between the Carpenter and Associates and Holzer teams. However, after consultation with the Athens Country Club golf pro, it was recommended to award first place to the team with the best score on the most difficult hole of the course: Hole 3. That led to the winners of this year’s benefit being named the Carpenter and Associates team, which was captained by their new associate advisor Matt Herink and completed with Jeff Herink, Caleb Corsain, and Caleb Corsain, Jr. Holzer’s second place team was captained by Tyler Chadwell and completed with Dr. Aaron Ramsey, Todd Fowler, and Dr. Mike Canady.
Our golfers sure showed off their skills this year! The men’s closest to the pin winner was Paul Cadamagnani of Karr Audiology. Nick Detwiller from Mark Porter came away with the men’s longest drive. The longest putt of the day belonged to Josh Thomas, who played for the Dean Heating and Cooling team. And the winner of both the women’s longest drive AND the closest to the pin contests was Ashley Brown of Quidel. And person with arguably the most luck of the day was Tracy Bobo of Karr Audiology, who took home the split-the-pot winnings.
Thank you to the Athens Country Club staff for their hospitality and assistance, and to our many Chamber Board and Ambassador volunteers: Angela Carter, PersonnelPlus; Melissa Bailes-Jewell, Fairfield Inn; Lindsay Barnett, Hampton Inn; Alysia Brooks, Mathews Insurance; Sarah Debroas, Herlihy Moving; Hannah Gilkey, Peoples Bank; Beth Lanning, ProjectRISE; Andrea Lewis, The Post; Shawna Stump, Shawna Stump State Farm Insurance; Laurie McKnight, Area 14 Workforce Development Board; Bailey Shooner, Career Connections; and Shawna Wolfe, Ohio University.
What a great day of comradery and connection – we can’t wait for next year! Until then, check out some highlights from the day: