Golf tourney to help education program

COEUR D'ALENE - Golfers still have time to register for a fundraising tournament Sunday that will benefit the Columbia Basin Herald's Newspapers in Education program.

The Newspapers in Education Golf Classic is sponsored by Horizon Credit Union in Moses Lake.

The 18-hole tournament will be at the Coeur d'Alene Resort, with registration from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and the practice range open from 10 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Owen McClain, PGA teaching professional at the Moses Lake Golf Club, will conduct a clinic at 11:45 a.m. The tournament begins with a shotgun start at 1:15 p.m. with a barbecue dinner and awards session at 5 p.m.

The tournament features a scramble format with team awards for low gross and low net, said Tom Hinde, the Herald's circulation manager and tournament organizer. "We have hole contests on every hole, too," Hinde said.

Entry fee is $170 per player or $680 per four-person team. Some hole sponsorships are still available, and a hole sponsorship includes the right to enter a four-person team, Hinde said. Hole sponsorships are $1,000 per hole. All sponsors receive promotional opportunities, including recognition ads in the newspaper.

"It is really just a fun, fun event," Hinde said. The Coeur d'Alene Resort is on the list of the Top 100 public courses in the September 2012 issue of Golf magazine. "Great for the high or low handicapper to play," he said.

All proceeds go to benefit the Newspapers in Education program, which delivers newspapers to schools throughout the Herald's circulation area. Every public and private school in the circulation area is eligible to have free copies of the Herald delivered to the class, Hinde said. That includes the schools from Quincy to Ritzville/Lind to Almira/Coulee-Hartline to Othello, Hinde said.

"Every school in our distribution area gets newspapers at one time or another," he said. Teachers are asked to use the newspapers in the classroom, Hinde said, and to write a letter detailing how the newspaper is used in the classroom. "Every year the program continues to grow and grow and grow."

The program is valuable because newspapers are a crucial tool in promoting literacy, Hinde said, and provide significant information about local, national and international events. That makes them an excellent tool for education, he said.

People who want to register for the tournament, need more information on sponsorship or teachers seeking more details on the Newspapers in Education program can contact Hinde or Jenna Erickson during circulation department business hours, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., at 509-765-8882.