Hillsborough County Veterans Helping Veterans will host its eighth annual golf tournament on Saturday, September 30 to fundraise for its mission of providing assistance to local bay area veterans in need.
The golf tournament will take place at Summerfield Crossings Golf Club, beginning at 8:15 a.m. with a shotgun start. Preregistered golfers can check in as early as 7 a.m. and will be treated to lunch from East Coast Pizza and an awards ceremony at 1 p.m.
Other awards will include first place, second place, longest drive and closest to the pin. Veterans Helping Veterans will also award bowling tickets to the last-place award winner.
“It would be great if we could raise $30,000. Typically, when [veterans] come to us, they are needing help with their rent, house payment, food, utilities, telephone, car, transportation, all of those things,” said secretary Joe Eletto.
Tickets for a group of four cost $500 and individual tickets are available for $125. The tournament is looking for more sponsors, ranging from hole sponsorships available for $200 to Medal of Honor sponsorships for $3,000.
This year’s Medal of Honor sponsor is Pop a Beer Bar & Grill, a veteran-owned and operated restaurant in Tampa.
Eletto said the biggest challenge has been finding sponsors and getting responses from businesses to sponsor different holes. However, he said finding their photographer was especially easy. Veteran Bill Kirkland will be photographing the event again this year for the tournament.
The tournament is the major annual fundraiser for Veterans Helping Veterans. The organization is a nonprofit that advocates for the support of veterans in Hillsborough County and supports their basic needs.
“It benefits the needy veterans. That’s our whole purpose: helping needy veterans. We are their last resort for help,” said Eletto.
The event will be located at 13050 Summerfield Blvd. off Big Bend Road in Riverview. To support the event, golfers can preregister for the event and companies or groups can purchase one of its 12 sponsorship options. To register, visit https://hcvhv8.ezregister.com/.
For more information, contact Eletto at 813-789-8682 or elettoc21@gmail.com or visit the Veterans Helping Veterans website at www.hcveteranshelpingveterans.org.
