Foundation Golf Tournament a Success

For the past 26 years, the nonprofit Lompoc Hospital District Foundation has reached out to the community for financial help.

One day every spring for that more than a quarter-century, the Flower Valley Golf Classic has been a Friday gathering place for supporters of the foundation’s mission – which is to help provide the Lompoc Healthcare District with funds to purchase capital items or make capital improvements.

This year, the generosity of the foundation supporters brought in a whopping $65,0000, according to Foundation Treasurer Gary Williams.

This year, the golf tournament dawned a brilliantly warm blue day at the Mission Club in Vandenberg Village.

Golfers from as far away as the East Coast – and many from throughout California – lined up for a chance at the links.

This year, the 26th annual event drew 98 golfers to the greens, aided by dozens of volunteers from the foundation and Vandenberg Air Force Base.

As with last year, Foundation members were encouraging involvement and donations to help with the $2 million capital campaign for the renovation of the Comprehensive Care Center.

The tournament could not have been successful without sponsors and donors, including the generosity of dozens of tee sponsors, Closest to the Pin Sponsors, and those sponsoring oasis, longest drive, straightest drive and happy hour. Jim Vreeland Ford once again was the Hole in One sponsor, and Coastal Vision Inc. was a major benefactor, as was Community Bank of Lompoc. The Lompoc Valley Community Healthcare Organization was the lunch sponsor and the Santa Ynez Valley Band of Chumash Indians were the golf cart sponsors.

A new attraction proved very popular this year – the opportunity drawing for an expansive half-wine barrel container filled with Santa Barbara County wines. Just 200 tickets were sold for the chance to win the 50 bottles of fine vintages, and Lompoc native Pat Brady was the lucky winner.

One of the most generous moments during the tournament came by way of Gary Bennett, president of Aspyra, LLC. Aspyra, whose headquarters is in Florida, is a global provider of healthcare products and services for the laboratory and imaging. The company specializes in providing engineered workflow solutions that include software, interfaces, hardware and professional services to an array of markets encompassing specialty labs, reference labs, clinics, hospitals, imaging centers and orthopedic practices.

Bennett, a good-natured golfer, came to California from Florida without his golf clubs, anticipating that he could rent a set at the Mission Club. When that turned out not to be the case, Bennett went out and purchased an entirely new set of clubs – and then donated them back to the Foundation for use in the live auction. A happy bidder took them home that evening.

Auctioneer Charles Sommers did a valiant job of keeping buyers happy and jockeying for items that ranged from a Disneyland package to tickets to see the band Chicago at the Vino Robles Amphitheater.

At the end of the tourney, the 1st Gross Team consisted of Hall, Hall, Pata, and Bracey, while the 1st Net Team was Christen, Leong, Ramirez and Kimbel.

For anyone wanting to continue their support throughout the year, the Foundation accepts donation pledges spread throughout a five-year span, and donations may be designated for a particular CCC area or room.