Mercer County CYO hosting annual golf tournament

The Mercer County CYO Golf Tournament will tee off this afternoon followed by a dinner to honor Dr. Kathie Soss Prihoda as the CYO Woman of the Year.

Over the years this event has meant so much more to the youth in the area than just a group of friends getting together to play a round of golf, enjoy good food and honor a woman who has been a CYO groupie since she was a young girl attending Holy Cross School in South Trenton.

“The CYO Golf Classic has been a tremendous benefit to the CYO in numerous ways,” said Tom Mladenetz, the CYO Executive Director. “Over the 21 years, we have cumulatively raised over a few hundred thousand dollars to do capital improvements at our various facilities and for a non-profit agency like the CYO this is huge.”

It has been just as huge seeing the growth in the programs that serve the county’s youth since the arrival of Mladenetz at the CYO.

The operating budget has grown as has the full-time staffing from seven to 40 and another 170 are part-time or seasonal.

Mladenetz has seen the CYO go from two facilities to five sites throughout the county that are all operating year round.

“The growth has allowed us to serve more children and families,” said Mladenetz. “This is all possible because of the dedicated team of staff members and amazing volunteers on our Board and various Committees.”

The CYO serves over 1,200 children and families every day and that does not include the over 1,000 kids in the traditional CYO athletic leagues that are still flourishing and growing each year.

While a bevy of golfers will be one the course at Mercer County’s Mountain View Golf Course enjoying the game and hopefully winning a prize there might not be a better example of the way the CYO has affected the youth in this area than Soss Prihoda.

“She and her sister, Karen, and her brother John all participated in the CYO activities,” said Mladenetz. “Over the years, Kathie has stayed connected to the CYO in numerous ways. Kathie is constantly giving back to the CYO and for that we are very grateful.”

Soss Prihoda, who is a member of the nursing faculty at Rutgers-Camden University, is also a member of the CYO Board of Trustees, currently serving as Vice-Chair.

“People like Dr. Kathie Soss Prihoda are key to the success of the CYO,” said Mladenetz. “We are in our 67th year and hopefully we will still be here to hit 100 years and beyond.”