Fairways of student support
Long drives and high-fives ruled the day as Concordia Golf Classic particpants hit the greens on June 3 to mark a decade of fundraising for student bursaries and scholarships.
Close to 160 alumni and friends celebrated the tournament’s 10th anniversary with a flourish, raising more than $220,000 towards academic awards.
Since its inception the Concordia Golf Classic, organized by Advancement and Alumni Relations, has raised $3.5 million. The event has long been a June tradition at the Fontainebleau Golf Club in Blainville, Que.
The tournament has enabled the creation of 1,500 awards, many of which help Concordia students make ends meet so they can focus on their degrees.
Concordia President Alan Shepard thanked the tournament’s sponsors and volunteers for their vigorous devotion during a post-golf banquet emceed by Toronto radio morning man John Moore, BA 88.
Concordia Chancellor Jacques Ménard lauded the tournament’s supporters, many of whom are Concordia alumni, for their enduring generosity. Ménard called them a caring “community of communities.”
Norman Hébert Jr. and George Hanna, tournament co-chairs, drew attention to the event’s higher purpose -- student support -- and thanked participants for a decade of steadfast loyalty.
Team captain Raffaele Gerbasi, EMBA 08, said golf and philanthropy were natural partners. “It was wonderful,” said Gerbasi, vice-president of fire control equipment company Wildfire Environmental Inc. “It’s the least we can do for students.”
The irony was not lost on Antoine Audy-Julien, a finance student at the John Molson School of Business, who called the Golf Classic Entrance Scholarship he earned in 2010 “a huge recognition” of his hard work. “A scholarship can change someone’s life dramatically,” said Audy-Julien.
Advancement and Alumni Relations Vice-President Marie Claire Morin drew parallels between Audy-Julien’s academic success and donor motivation. “He is here to remind us why we support Concordia,” said Morin.
At the 2013 Concordia Golf Classic