Two golf tournaments held last Friday were well supported by the community.
The Sylvan Lake and Area Urgent Care Committee’s Golf for Urgent Care was held at Meadowlands Golf Club; the Sylvan Lake Minor Hockey Association’s fundraising tournament at the Sylvan Lake Golf and County Club.
Golf for Urgent Care was the first golf tournament fundraiser put on by the Urgent Care Committee; the minor hockey association’s tournament is held annually.
Susan Samson, Urgent Care Committee chair, estimated that the urgent care event brought in between $20,000 to $25,000 — money that will be held in the David Thompson Health Trust and eventually used to purchase medical equipment for a future urgent care facility.
Shea Karcha, vice president for the Sylvan Lake Minor Hockey Association, said there wasn’t a specific fundraising goal at the minor hockey tournament, but emphasized how appreciative association members are with the funds they receive, with donations put toward the purchase of equipment.
Organizers of both events were pleased with their respective results.
“We had excellent feedback from the golfers, and everybody seemed to have a really good time,” Samson said.
According to Karcha, everyone at the minor hockey tournament “was smiling and having a good time.”
“Everyone had fun,” he said.
The urgent care fundraiser also served as a reminder that the need for enhanced health care access is a priority for the town and its surrounding area.
With the closest hospital being in Red Deer, people currently have a difficult time accessing vital emergency health care, Samson explained.
“If you get hurt after hours, or if you’re here as a visitor, or if you get sick in the night, you are going to the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre, and that’s unacceptable,” Samson said. “We’re a community of 14,000, and we need first-hand medical services here in this community.”
With a new arena being built and dealing with the wearing out of equipment, Karcha expects costs to be higher this year.
The association’s goal, he said, is to help provide the means for children to play hockey, regardless of circumstance.
“We have a great association of people that support it,” he said. “We’re just really appreciative of everything that we get, and at the end of the day, it’s to try and make it financially viable for every kid to play hockey, regardless of anything else.”