Booster club raises $3,000

Hannah Gross 
NLJ Correspondent 
 
The Newcastle Booster Club held its fourth annual golf tournament fundraiser on Aug. 15 at the Newcastle Country Club, and even though the numbers were down a little bit, the club still raised approximately $3,000, according to board member Jamie Beastrom. 
“It was a great turnout,” Beastrom said. “I thought it went really well.”
The golfers teed off the 18-hole tournament at 8:30 a.m., and the weather was beautiful all day. Beastrom said they couldn’t have asked for a better day.
Instead of having a big dinner at the end because of COVID-19 constraints, the club provided food throughout the day. That was the only change made to comply with the 6-foot rule because, according to Beastrom, the outdoor event made social distancing fairly easy to maintain.
Not having the usual dinner at the end made the teardown go quickly, so they were “done and out” by 5 p.m. This allowed the teams and players to golf just for fun in the evening or play a few rounds of three-man scramble, without being too tuckered out from the long day. 
Eleven teams signed up for the tournament  (registration cost was $200 per team), and the top three teams came in very close. The No. 1 team, “Sasquatch and the Boys,” claimed the first-place $300 cash prize, with a net score of 47.8. This team consisted of Matt Conzelman, Scott Beehler, Travis Garhart and Dave Christensen. The second-place team, “Lone Tree Ranch,” was close behind with a net score of 47.9, golfed by Rick Popham, Rick Annis, Phil Thurman and Gary Word. They won a $200 cash prize. Chance Bock, Taylor Hespe, Charley Hoffman and Chris Spilski of the “C Cruë” team came in third for the $100 cash prize with a score of 49.4. 
In addition to prizes for the top-three teams, door prizes and pin prizes were awarded throughout the day. Creative hole games were added to the course, which allowed the golfers to gain an advantage while raising even more money for the booster club. At the first hole, teams could pay $50 to move up to the top of the hill or $100 to move to the green. At the sixth hole, the golfers could play a hand of blackjack, and if they bested the dealer, they could move up. The ninth hole was called the “TeePee T off” because to start off, golfers had to tee off a roll of toilet paper, and wherever it landed, that’s where they started. 
The money raised at the golf tournament is usually used for the club’s tailgate parties at football games or other community events, but with the pandemic, Beastrom said, more of it will probably be used to help students in extracurricular sports and activities. However, if something “comes out of the blue,” they are “open to ideas,” she said. 
 Beastrom advises everyone to be on the lookout for the membership drive email, which is coming up soon. The drive is the perfect opportunity to get involved with the booster club. There are different tiers of yearly membership, starting as low as $10 a year for “Dogie Patron” up to $500 for “Dogie Domination.” 
In addition to Beastrom, the club’s other board members are Jon Tidyman, Kristi Lipp, Chris Gray and Marti Ostenson.For answers to questions or for additional information, visit the Newcastle Booster Club’s Facebook page or contact a board member. 
“It’s always good to see supporters,” Beastrom said.