However, Arlene Waldron said she still has to pinch herself sometimes to make sure it’s real.
That’s how she felt Thursday night as the Greater Brandon Community Foundation she and Nymark helped found distributed thousands of dollars to Brandon area charities for the second year.
The funds represented the proceeds from the annual Greater Brandon Charity Golf Classic, which is now being planned for the third year. This year’s event is scheduled for Feb. 8-12 at River Hills Country Club.
Bright House Networks once again has signed on as the presenting sponsor and Carlos Tosca is returning for the second year as the celebrity host of the classic’s Tournament of Champions, a by-invitation tournament featuring the winners of charity golf tournaments held in Brandon throughout the year. Also joining the sponsorship team is Catch 47 and Tampa Bay Sports Television.
A Valrico resident and Arizona Diamondbacks third-base coach, Tosca was raised in Brandon. He and his wife, Gerry’s, 2-year-old son, C.J., died of cancer in 1986 and a portion of the proceeds from the golf classic are earmarked for the fight against pediatric cancer in C.J.’s memory.
At a reception to thank the sponsors Nov. 15 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, the Toscas presented a $10,000 check to the foundation.
“Our son was a fighter. We’d like to continue the fight for him,” said Tosca. “We’ve been able to raise this money to continue the fight in finding a cure and present this check to you in the name of our son, C.J.”
Tosca said there are still openings in this year’s Tournament of Champions. The cost is $150 per player.
The classic also features a Pro-Am Golf Tournament that attracts more than 30 celebrity golfers including Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Lightning and Devil Rays players who are paired with teams of four golfers. At $5,000 per team, the field is limited to 96 golfers.
Nine charities walked away with checks Thursday night at the reception hosted by Dallas Owens of Mojitos Grill in Winthrop Town Centre. Among them were Eva Ruiz, president of the Brandon Junior Woman’s Club; Melissa Rios, area director of Brandon Young Life; Bob Sharpe, director of Cookson Hills Family Ministries of Florida; Cynthia and Leroy Pinckney of Cynthia Pinckney Ministries; Dusty D’Amatangelo, president of the Kiwanis Club of Greater Brandon; Pat LeJeune, executive director of the Nativity Outreach Food Pantry and Food Bank; Gail McDonald, Resurrection parish nurse Gail McDonald and the Hillsborough Crisis Center.
To be eligible, the nonprofit must be based in Brandon and supply a copy of its 501c3 tax-exempt paperwork and any printed materials about the charity. Applications are available online at http://www.brandonbusiness.com/foundation/ and may be mailed to the foundation at P.O. Box 3197, Brandon 33509. Grant applications also are available online.
In addition, foundation board members Mary and John Boor, along with Bill Hartgrove of Dignity Memorial Funeral Home, presented Dave Braun of the Haley House with a check for $5,000 for that charity through donations from the Dignity Vietnam Moving Wall on display at Westfield Brandon in October. The Haley House provides assistance to the families of service men and women who must travel to the Tampa Bay area to be with loved ones being treated here.
Hartgrove said he was overwhelmed by the response he received from the foundation and Brandon as a whole when he asked for help in bringing the replica of the Vietnam memorial to Brandon.
“In the 37 years I’ve worked for this company, I’ve never seen a community pull together like this one,” he said. “We asked and you gave.”
He had high praise for the Boors, the Nam Knights motorcycle corps, which escorted and erected the moving wall in record time, and Boy Scout Troop 110 and the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 787, which provided round-the-clock security.
In addition, last month the foundation held its inaugural Evening of Hope to raise funds for Brandon families affected by cancer. As part of that effort, the foundation is putting together a database of “foundation angels,” people who are willing to donate time or services to help cancer patients or their families during difficult times. The foundation is looking for people willing to donate lawn services, massage, meals, baby-sitting services, etc…
“We need good medical advice, financial assistance, kind employers, prayers and the support of people around us,” said prostate cancer survivor and director of counseling services at Bell Shoals Baptist Church Paul Weiseman, speaking at the Evening of Hope. “It’s the little things that count—an unexpected meal, help with a doctor’s appointment. God says if you help another person, you’re helping Him.”
“We believe this community can meet any need,” said Nymark. “We want to know if someone in our community is hurting and if there’s any way possible, we want to help them.”
For more information, visit http://www.brandonfoundation.com or call 661-8683.