It was a beautiful Saturday morning on May 7th as 128 players hit the links at the Del Lago Golf Club for the Fifth Annual Greater Vail Area Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament. The proceeds from this tournament will enable the Chamber to continue to award scholarships next year to those chosen graduating Vail seniors preparing to attend Arizona universities, said Dennis Fischer, tournament founder and five-year golf tournament chair. In addition to being the stimulus and leadership to oversee the raising of the funds for Vail students, Fischer is also the chairman of the scholarship committee. With a small committee, he reads every student application and together they select the scholarship recipients. “It does give me a lot of pleasure to award the scholarships, and I do enjoy talking with the kids,” said Fischer, who volunteers hundreds of hours of his expertise and connections to the tournament and scholarship committees. This year there were 75 scholarship applicants.
“I volunteer at the Vail and Sahaurita schools ten days a year talking to the kids about careers in mining, how to write a resume, and how to interview for a job” Fischer said, showing his commitment to students. Del Lago Golf Club hosts upwards of 100 groups and tournament events a year, said Steve Gummere, general manager of the Club. We are proud to be the host course for local organizations to raise funds for their project that benefit our friends and neighbors. Some examples of these organizations, in addition to the Chamber, hosted by Gummere, are Cienega Rotary Club, Cienega High School and Booster Club, Vail Christian Church, American Legion Post #109, and St Rita in the Desert to name a few. Both Cienega and Empire High School golf teams are hosted at Del Lago.
The Del Lago Golf Club is a public course consisting of the Hacienda del Lago Restaurant, Pro Shop, one of the finest practice facilities in Southern Arizona, Knockerball field, and an 18-hole championship golf course, said Gummere. The course consists of 188 acres, nine beautiful lakes, over six miles of cart paths, and spectacular views.
The results of the Chamber contest found the First Place winning team was from Southwest Septic Service. Team players were Shane Stamback, Kurt Stamback, Tyler Stamback, and Caleb Shull. Southwest Septic Service also won the tournament in 2014. The Second Place winning team was from Harrington Technologies featuring players Robert Harrington, Rory O’Hara, Tim Jansons, and Todd Weidner. Coming in third was the team from the Vail School District’s Desert Willow Elementary School. Team members were Stephen Forgacs, Kenny Riesgo, Nick Weigel, and Dylan Van Echo. Plans are already underway for next year’s tournament.
