The tournament is over and it was GREAT! We had a threat of thunderstorms but they passed us by early and we had a perfect day for golf!  We started the day out with a tribute to those we lost on 9/11/2001 and the men and women who continue to make our great country safe.  Boy Scout troup 504 did a flag presentation and lead a flag salute and moment of silence, and then Samantha Sterbonic from Santa Maria Bonita School District (a student) sang the national anthem.  Boy, does that young lady have a set of lungs, she was great.  Then off to a great day of golf.  Our sponsors this year went all out with fun, food, drink and activities.  Although we did not ask, they all decorated in a patriotic theme.  As we all rolled in from the golf course there was a great dinner which we followed with an opportunity to buy your own desert and then a silent and live auction.  The highlight of the auction was when Bill White, an Atascadero City Firefighter/paramedic got up to explain the significance of Leather firefighter hat.  The sheild had the FDNY from the Fire Dept of New York and the number 343, which represented the 343 firefighters that were lost that day.  It is pretty humbling to see a big strapping man, that you know is ready to safe your life if you need it, get choked up.  There was a standing ovation for the fire department at the end of that item!  I haven't had time yet to sit down and calculate how much we made but I would really like to thank EVERYONE who participated, from the sponsors to the donors who provided items, to the golfers, and Cypress Ridge and the Grill at Cypress Ridge.  A lot of hard work, by a lot of people is what makes a successful day like that and almost everyone I have talked to about the day say that it was the BEST ever tournament that we have had.

If you want to join us, we will be having a meeting on Thursday, Sept 15, to discuss what went right and what could have been better and to start to plan next years event already!  We will be at Klondike's Pizza (one of great auction item donors) in Santa Maria at noon.

The golf tournament for this year is just around the corner.  We got a slow start this year, but we are picking up steam quickly.  There are some very fun activities planned by your T-sponsors.  You will find something to eat and/or drink at most of the T-boxes as well as fun and great people there to interact with. 
We decided to bring back the auction again this year, and we have some fun items on the list, I think you will like it, and we will have our latest addition to the dinner-a desert auction to follow dinner. 
There are still openings for golfers, but it is filling in quick, so get in touch with either me or the Santa Maria Association of Realtors soon.  I hope to see lots of you there, this is one of my favorite days of the year!!