Celebrity Hockey Players to join local golfers
During the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, most Canadians were glued to TV screens to watch those nail-biting gold medal games. Adding to the thrill for the people of Northwestern Ontario was the chance to cheer on homegrown hockey heroes.
For the fifth year, Freedom 55 Financial is providing golfers an opportunity to get to know hockey players from Northwestern Ontario. The Freedom 55 Financial Thunder Bay Hockey Celebrity Golf Classic, one of the premiere golf events on the summer schedule, will take place at Whitewater Golf Course on Thursday, June 10, 2010 in support of the Northern Cancer Fund of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation.
In the past, hockey greats Eric Staal, Jordan Staal, Mark Staal, Jared Staal, Alex Auld, Patrick Sharp, Tyler Pyatt, Mike Richards, Trevor Letowski, Jeff Heerema and many others joined teams of golfers in the best-ball tournament. One of 30 hockey players joins each team of four golfers.
“There’s a great chance that some teams will be golfing with Olympic hockey gold medalists this year,” says Tom Mihaljevic, event chair and Director, Business Development for Freedom 55 Financial. “The tournament has always been enthusiastically supported by the hockey players.” Although the event will be held over a month earlier than usual, Mihaljevic anticipates the same level of support from the celebrity hockey players.
In years past the tournament has been supported by a corporate contribution from Great-West Life, London Life and Canada Life through The Key to Giving™, the companies’ national corporate citizenship program. Freedom 55 Financial is the financial security planning division of London Life. To date, The Freedom 55 Financial Thunder Bay Hockey Celebrity Golf Classic has raised over $100,000 to advance cancer care for the people of Northwestern Ontario.
Glenn Craig, President & CEO of the Health Sciences Foundation applauds the outstanding commitment of Freedom 55 Financial, Great West Life and the hockey players. “The impact those funds have on care for cancer patients cannot be understated,” he says, adding that 100% of the funds remain in Northwestern Ontario.
The event’s fundraising success can be attributed to exciting opportunities for sponsors and golfers. A ‘Hall of Fame’ sponsorship entitles the sponsor to the first draft pick of the day – the player of their choice will join their team. The second draft pick will go to the highest bidder in a live auction just prior to tee-off. Other sponsorships pay off for event participants as well as the Northern Cancer Fund. "Last year, through the generous support of our sponsors, a golfer won a car in a hole-in-one contest,” explains Mihaljevic.
For details on the tournament, updates on celebrity players, photos from past events and other information, visit the new website of the Freedom 55 Financial Thunder Bay Hockey Celebrity Golf Classic, www.thunderbaycelebritygolf.ca.
For information on sponsorship opportunities, please contact Tom Mihaljevic, Freedom 55 Financial, at (807) 343-4788 ext: 522.
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For further information, please contact:
Tracie Smith, Director of Communications
Tel: 807 684 7111 Cel: 807 621 9438
Tracie.Smith@healthsciencesfoundation.ca
