A record number of teams participated in the 14th Annual United Way Golf Scramble on August 20th at Sheaffer Memorial Golf Course.  The morning showers ended right before the 12:30 p.m. shotgun start and all 26 teams completed the course right before a big storem moved in around 5:45 p.m.

The Golf Outing is the kick-off event for the Fort Madison Area United Way Community Caring Campaign which has a theme of “GIVE UNITED, LIVE UNITED” and a goal 10% higher than last year at $155,000. After expenses, a record $6300 was raised in the best shot charity golf event through golf fees, sponsorships, a silent auction, raffle and on-course games.

The scoring was in flights which means that the top 9 scores were in the championship flight, the second 9 scores were in the first flight and the bottom 8 scores were in the second flight.

The Flight winners in this year’s Best Shot Scramble were:

• Championship Flight, First Place with a score of 60 was the ReMax/HyVee team comprised of Terry Hope, Bill Schulte, Chuck Osmanski and Dan Dalziel. They won 8 free airplane tickets from Burlington to Chicago donated by the Southeast Iowa Regional Airport, free lunches at Alphas and United Way hats and shirts.  
• Championship Flight, Second Place with a score of 61 went to Scotts Company Team number 1 which included: Dave Fedler, Wayne Chestnut, Dennis Clark, Bryan Loeffler
•  First Flight, First Place went to the team of Fort Madison Community Schools with a score of 63. The team was comprised of Greg Smith, Bill Maupin, Dick Burch and Frances Jordan.
•  First Flight, Second Place was won by the Gorham team which scored 64 and included John Gorham, Dick Gorham, Don Gorham, and Mike Gorham.
•  Second Flight, First Place went to the Edward Jones team with a score of 68 and  included Larry Kelch, Bernie Abolt, Brad Vandenberg, and Rich Mueller.
•  Second Flight, Second Place went to the Four Eyes Team/Dr. Smith, Smith and Maus team with a score of 70.  
• The consolation prize went to Archie’s Super Service team for last place and included framed photos of the 3 Stooges golfing with a caption “Don’t Quit Your Day Job” and Putt Putt certificates.

The winners of  “on course games” were:

• Longest Drive Men:  Brad Greenslaugh of Climax Molybdenum
• Longest Drive Women:   Annie Ufkes of Fort Madison Community Hospital 2 team
• Closest to the pin was Larry Smith on Hole 16 and Larry Rhum on Hole 11.   
• Longest Putt Men: Shane Tapper of Fort Madison Community Hospital team 2.
• Longest Putt Women:   Sarah Haeffner of Archies’ Super Service team/Cryotech.

The official sponsor for the charity golf event was Fort Madison Community Hospital and the lunch was sponsored by County Market with beverages sponsored by Fleck Sales and Memphis Bottling/Pepsi. Siemens Energy sponsored the hole in one prize of a Pebble Beach golf vacation which unfortunately was not won by any golfer this year. HyVee, Silgan Containers, and The Gathering Room sponsored the awards refreshments.

Fifteen flag sponsors and five pennant sponsors helped to make this a special event. A total of 52 merchants, businesses, banks, and service organizations provided over $4,000 of in-kind donations to help make this a great kick-off event for the Fort Madison Area United Way.

As the United Way kick-off event, the annual golf outing is the first event of the Fort Madison Area fund-raising drive which will begin in earnest September 15 after the Rodeo events are over. A total of 23 local human service organizations will benefit from the United Way Caring Campaign along with United Way programs such as Budget Buddies, Winterization Coupons, and printing a Community Directory. For more information about Fort Madison Area United Way, visit their office at 703 Ave. G, Fort Madison, or call 319-372-3585.