Charity Golf Tournament seeks to raise money for church building renovation

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The fourth annual HIS Building Charity Golf Tournament was hosted July 24 at the Strathmore Golf Club with the aim of raising another $20,000 for the Sacred Heart Catholic Church. 

Organizer Wendy Fuchs-Cey said though the property has had several minor steps taken to prepare for renovation, it can’t truly start until enough money is raised.

“We purchased the old IGA building, but we need … to have so much money raised before we can actually go in and start changing the roof and turning it into a church,” she said. “We’ve decommissioned gas lines and water lines and just done stuff that we can to try to cut costs … as soon as you start doing [demolitions] then you have to deal with all that as well.”

She explained the tournament raises roughly $20,000 each year and hopes the same would go for this iteration. 

The location of the tournament, she added, is often split between hosting at the Speargrass Golf Course, and in Strathmore.

Fuchs-Cey did not specify the scope of the renovations to the building, though described them as significant. She also did not specify exactly how much capital is required to complete the project.

Over 100 golfers reportedly came out to enjoy the tournament, which is par for the course when compared to previous tournaments.

Fuchs-Cey added she sees new faces every year, which includes people from Calgary to Saskatchewan, and everywhere in between.

“People really have fun and we make it a fun tournament,” she said. “It’s a scramble, so you go to the furthest hit ball … it’s easy, so even if you’re not a good golfer, you don’t have to be to play.

“We really appreciate all of our sponsors and golfers — it’s been very successful.”

The overall goal for the project is to see full-scale renovations to the building begin in the summer of 2022.