The Houston VTAA Chapter hosted the 1st Annual Houston Hokie Open golf tournament on Saturday, April 28, 2007 at Longwood Golf Club in Cypress, TX. The tournament committee regards the results of our first golf tournament to be a tremendous success with 40 golfers and 9 volunteers having participated in this event.
The purpose of the event was to raise money for the Houston Chapter scholarship fund, and two goals were set early in the planning process. The first goal was to raise at least the amount of our annual scholarship ($1,500). We raised over $2400 on the day of the tournament. Additionally, $1850 was donated directly to the Virginia Tech Foundation for the Houston Chapter Scholarship because of the tournament. Combined, we have raised almost $4300!
The second important goal was for everyone to have fun. We wanted to have strong sponsorship and a large number of prizes; a fun and engaging experience for volunteers; and enjoyment and excitement for participants, who would hopefully feel like they received their money's worth, and would want to play again next year. Several participants commented that it was one of the best and most fun tournaments they had played in. The Longwood Golf Club management, our host course, commented that they were greatly impressed at the level of organization and enthusiasm of our tournament volunteers, especially considering it was our first event. Many participants reminded the golf committee that "1st Annual" implies that this is expected to be an annual event, and they are right! Tournament Photos
So be looking for the 2nd Annual Houston Hokie Open Golf Tournament next spring.
All of this would not have been possible without excellent teamwork, and that's what we had in the planning and organization of this tournament. We want to thank Shelley Tyree for organizing the volunteers on tournament day. This is often not an easy task, but Shelley had our Hokie volunteers, including a visit from the Hokie Bird, up for the challenge. We also want to thank Pat Tyree for all of the graphics work that he did for the tournament. And finally, we want to thank all of the other volunteers who took their time and effort to make the tournament a memorable and successful event.
We are grateful for the support of the following sponsors:
Longwood Golf Club
Southwest Airlines
Houston National Golf Club
Hearthstone Golf Club
Jubilant Cargo
TechSideline.com
Fox & Hound Smokehouse & Tavern
SRO's Sports Bar & Cafe
Christian Brothers Automotive
Hickory Hollow Restaurants
Gabriel Tran Photography
Brian J. Hart
Eutsler Law Firm
Virginia Tech Alumni Association
Virginia Tech College of Science
Campus Emporium
University Bookstore
Numerous Houston Hokie alumni
We look forward to seeing you at the 2nd Annual Houston Hokie Open next spring!
1st Annual Houston Hokie Open Golf Committee
Mike Strickler, Chairman
Fred Gibson
Wendi Sudhakar
