Three non-profits benefit from LPGA event
Chosen by Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation, each receives $5,800
LOWER POTTSGROVE >> Three Pottstown area non-profits will share in a $17,500 check presented to the Pottstown Area Health and Wellness Foundation from the LPGA Symetra Tour and the Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board.
The check, presented Wednesday at Gatsby’s at Sunnybrook in Lower Pottsgrove, was the inaugural tournament check for the LPGA Symetra Tour golf tournament held in May at Raven’s Claw Golf Club in Limerick. Pottstown Health & Wellness Foundation was the title sponsor for the event.
“This event provides strong female role models for our children to look up to,” said Skye Tulio, communications assistant for the Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation, adding that the invitational “aligns with our purpose and our mission in the community.” That mission, she added, is to “enhance the health and wellness of area residents by providing education and funding programs that motivate people to adopt healthy lifestyles.”
Chosen to share in the $17,500 are: the TriCounty Community Network (TCN), a nonprofit membership organization, providing meaningful and sustainable partnerships to support community needs in the Greater Pottstown Area; the YWCA TriCounty Area, an organization dedicated to eliminating racism and empowering women; and the Foundation for Pottstown Education which supports, promotes, sponsors and carries out educational, scientific or charitable activities and objectives within or related to the Pottstown School District, according to a press release.
Tulio said that in choosing the non-profits that would each receive $5,800, the agency looked for programs that focus on children and women.
“We are proud of the donation the tournament was able to contribute to the Pottstown community by bringing the Valley Forge Invitational to this pocket of the county,” Mike Bowman, Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board president and CEO said in the release. “But just like any event, we want to double this number next year and in years to come.”
On hand for Wednesday’s check presentation were members of the Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board, the LPGA Symetra Tour, Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Gale and the non-profit recipients.
Wednesday’s event also served as an opportunity to announce that the LPGA Symetra Tour will return to Raven’s Claw Golf Club — returning to the area May 28 through June 1, 2019.
“We worked hard to bring this tournament to Montgomery County. We are thrilled to be founding sponsor,” said Lisa Karl, Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board vice president of sales and strategic partnership. “In 2019, Montgomery County will be one of 20 tournaments on the tour schedule — which means 500 hotel rooms and $800,000 in economic impact.”
“We spent 2½ years working to bring the tournament to Montgomery County. To have it come to Pottstown and to get it to execution has just been phenomenal,” said Mark Kaminetsky, director of sales, Valley Forge Sports. “We are excited as a region to embrace an event like this.”
Kaminetsky said it was “awesome” to see the residents of the Raven’s Claw
community sitting out on their decks in May, watching the tournament.
“We hope to see expansion and growth of this event. The more people we can get to come out, the better,” he added.
“With the LPGA Tour, Pottstown Rumble, BMX Bike Race, Kutztown Invitational and the Big 4 Lacrosse Tournament — these world class events make Pottstown the sports capitol of Montgomery County,” Karl added.
“Pottstown is a gem. This event was so great for the region in all ways — for
competitive sports, Pottstown, tourism and the county,” Bowman added.
The LPGA Symetra Tour is a gateway for players to advance to the LPGA — with the tour’s top 10 finishes awarded LPGA membership, according to Ed Harris, chief marketing officer for the Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board.
“More than 160 countries watch every week,” said Harris. “We are excited to market and promote an event of this caliber.”
He shared a statistic to illustrate the interest the event generated, saying that during the summer of 2017, the tourism agency’s golf outlet mongtcogolf.com had about 3,000 visitors.
“This summer it was more than 17,000 visitors. That is a tribute to the success of this tournament,” he said.
Harris added that the agency will do all it can to market the Symetra Tour’s 2019 Montgomery County stop.