The largest number of players ever turned out for the annual Southern Seminary Golf Tournament Oct. 11 at Fuzzy Zoeller’s Covered Bridge Golf Club in Louisville.
The tournament, which included 100 players, raised approximately $40,000 for Southern’s Annual Fund. The event is in its fourth year and featured long-drive and closest-to-the-pin competitions in addition to the tournament itself.
“It was a beautiful day, a lot of fun, a lot of excitement about the seminary,” said Douglas Walker, Southern’s senior vice president for institutional relations. “People enjoy the fellowship. I’m very grateful for the sponsors.”
In addition to the players, volunteers and sponsors took part in the event. Among the sponsors was LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, which provided lunch for the participants. Each team took a picture with Southern’s president, R. Albert Mohler Jr., at the start of the tournament.
Walker said the tournament builds a sense of community among donors and recruits new donors who use the event as an opportunity to learn about Southern.
“It’s a way for people to learn a little bit more about the seminary,” he said. “And we’ve had people in all four years now who don’t know that much about the seminary but who have played in the tournament and as a result have become friends and donors to the seminary.”
Will Smallwood, Southern’s director of development, agreed that the tournament had a great impact for Southern.
“The office of Institutional Relations exceeded the goals set for the golf tournament by increasing total number of players, total money raised and number of sponsors,” Smallwood said. “This event will have impact on our long-term relationships with donors to Southern. This will help us increase giving to the Southern Seminary endowment and help us to introduce more faithful givers into the Southern Seminary family.”
Though the $40,000 raised is significant in itself, Walker noted that the tournament has a long-term effect that far exceeds the immediate financial returns. As donors form closer relationships with Southern, they will be more likely to consider estate gifts to increase the seminary’s endowment, he said.
“This does have very long-term impact on the seminary—not just the $40,000, we raise for our Annual Fund for the current budget year at the seminary,” Walker said. “But it’s going to have long-term impact for years to come.”
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