PRINCEVILLE — The weather gods agreed with the Boys &Girls Club of Hawai‘i Saturday to allow the Fourth annual BGCH Kaua‘i Classic fundraising golf tournament to take place at the Princeville Makai Golf Club.
“What a fantastic tournament,” said Tina Albao of the Boys &Girls Club of Hawai‘i Kaua‘i Branch.
“You would never believe it with the weather we went through on Friday when Kaua‘i was under a flash-flood warning for nearly nine hours.”
“But BGCH being BGCH, we decided the train (tournament) that was already on course couldn’t be stopped,” said Albao, the BGCH Kaua‘i director of operations and development. “The weather gods finally agreed.”
The Fourth annual BGCH Kaua‘i Classic hosted 25 teams that included a combination of individual groups, companies and annual supportive golfers who braved the misty Princeville course that tournament chair Deborah Dama described as a “perfect stage for a magnificent day of golf, food, fellowship, and giving.”
“Despite the flooding and wet conditions, Kaua‘i golfers and volunteers rebounded quickly,” Dama said. “This is part of Kaua‘i’s spirit that group effort produces a stellar tournament.”
“In all my years working with BGCH, I have never seen this level of generosity and support coming through a golf tournament,” Albao said. “Our many sponsors supported the overall tournament, with Koloa Surf making a contribution as a platinum-level sponsor. There were hole sponsors, breakfast and lunch sponsors, and prize sponsors as well.”
Dama said restaurants like MCS Grill and TS Restaurants, fighting through the loss of visitors during the pandemic, still donated gift cards and logo items as prizes, and friends purchased gift cards from our local businesses as prizes.
“We are grateful to Kaua‘i small businesses and our dedicated golfers who formed teams of friends and co-workers to support BGCH-Kaua‘i,” Dama said. “This event really shows every single contribution, big and small, makes a difference to our clubhouses.”
“Our new environment has been hard on everyone, but we are putting one foot in front of another to let everyone know the village for our kids needs to remain intact, and we need to put their educations in the forefront of these efforts,” Albao said.
“Youth need their friends, their families and new interactions to feel as if they are a part of this world. Thank you to our golfing community and the precious outdoor spaces where we can still play safely. BGCH will remain a constant in their lives and continue to improve upon our services and resources, doing whatever it takes,” she said.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
