Contact Info

Name: Tina Erskine

Email Address: terskine@wccc.me.edu

Phone: (207) 454-1002

Date Submitted: July 6, 2012

CALAIS _There still is room for a few teams to sign up for the 11th annual Washington County Community College Golf Tournament on Saturday, July 14, at the St. Croix Country Club.

There will be two shotgun starts at 7:30a.m. and 1 p.m.

Again this year, the tournament will help raise scholarship money for WCCC students.

“We have more than 100 people signed up so far,” Club Pro Mike Ellis said recently. “That tournament is always a lot of fun and draws support from the area because the community college is so important here.”

This year golfers will be decked out in bright green commemorative T-shirts because of the generous donations of Calais business owners Ed Bell of Bell’s IGA, Ken Thomas of the International Motel, Drew Case of Calais Ace Home Center and Marcia Carlow of H & R Block in Calais and Machias.

And again this year, the lucky golfer who hits a hole-in-one on the first hole will win a flashy new 2012 Buick Verano. “It is a beautiful car with a moon roof, it is loaded right up,” said tournament co-sponsor Ian Pratt of Pratt Chevrolet- Olds-Buick-Pontiac-Geo on the River Road in Calais. Pratt also plans to donate other prizes for the tournament, including trips.

“Everyone who participates in the tournament will get a $50 gift card from Callaway,” he added. “Golfers know how valuable that is. So everyone who participates will pretty much get their participation fee back in golf stuff.”

Pratt has been a long-time supporter of the WCCC golf tournament. “I think that the community college represents a tremendous resource for our community.” he said. “They give back a lot to our community and it is important for our community to support them just as much.”

ln addition, there are prizes for anyone who hits a hole-in-one on the sixth hole.

Last year, former WCCC President Joyce Hedlund came up with the idea of the Direct-to-Student Scholarship Program as part of the golf tournament.

People stepped forward and the college raised $12,000 for student scholarships.

Some of those same people stepped forward again this year including: A.E. Horne of St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Wes and Joyce B Hedlund of Perry, Dr. Brian Hoops of Baileyville, the Eastport Authority, Arlo & Bonnie Smith of Perry, Bar Harbor Bank & Trust in Lubec and Machias, Diane Barnes of Calais, Wesserunsett Consultants also of Calais.

Additional past-year donors include: Quoddy Pilots of Eastport and the St. Croix Regional Technical Center in Calais. PCT Communications, Riverside Electric, Calais Motor Inn, Roger’s Auto Sales Inc., Dead River Company, EBS Building Supplies, Calais Ace Home Center all of Calais and Bill & Sue Cassidy and Richard Mingo Construction of Robbinston also contributed scholarships. Also donating again this year: Daylily Dyeworks of Perry, Rayes Mustard Mill of Eastport and Attorney John Churchill, Rogers Auto Sales and the International Motel all of Calais.

New donors this year are: the WCCC Student Senate, Calais Advertiser, Down East Credit Union , Eastern Maine Electric Co-op, Yancy’s Restaurant, Border Electric , WQDY-FM, Thomas DiCenzo Inc., Calais Family Eye Care and Andel Construction Service, LLC all of Calais. Additional donors include the Harold Howland Memorial Scholarship, the Eastland Motel and the Graettinger Family Scholarship of Lubec and Eastport Health Care and the Quoddy Tides in Eastport.

Calais resident Billy DelMonaco of Thomas DiCenzo Inc., a former graduate of the vocational-technical school in Northern Maine, agreed to participate in the Direct-to-Student Scholarship Program for the first time this year. He said he is a strong advocate of the community college system. “The labor force that we have here is getting older and we need some new blood and some new people around to get the job done. I’d like to see some young fellas and gals succeed and stay here in Washington County,” he said.

A popular part of the scholarship program allows donors to create their scholarship in their name or their business’ name. They can even create a scholarship in honor or in memory of a loved one. Donors choose the program of studies and create the criteria; $250 or more can make a difference in a student’s life.

In February, last year’s scholarships were presented to 35 WCCC students at the Annual Student Scholarship luncheon. At that time, the individuals and businesses that donated had the opportunity to meet the student recipients and program faculty. Another banquet will be held in February 2013 for this year’s donors and students.

Tina Erskine, WCCC director of public relations said that the Direct-to-Student-Scholarship program can make a difference. “When scholarship donors met with the student that received their scholarship, and heard directly from the student as to how appreciative and what a difference their scholarship made by helping them stay in college, it was confirmation of the positive results of their donation,” said Erskine.

Anyone who would like to participate in the scholarship program can send their donation to Erskine at Washington Community College, One College Drive, Calais, ME 04619, or for more information about the golf tournament or the scholarship program call Erskine at 454-1002.