Sunshine and warm weather was a welcome sight Saturday for the Tellico Village Lions Club as golfers flocked to Toqua Golf Course to play in the organization’s annual fundraiser.
The Golf-for-Sight Outing was originally scheduled for May 11, but rain forced the event to be pushed back a week. The community responded and packed the course with players.
“We actually added two teams, and two teams didn’t come. So we actually ended up even with everything,” Howard Higby, Lions representative, said. “People were able to find substitutes for people who were planning on playing last week and they found their own substitutes. Everybody showed up this morning that was supposed to.
“... I had a lot of compliments from golfers who were scheduled to play last week that said, ‘You made the right decision. We probably wouldn’t have even played last week with the weather the way it was’,” he added.
Dave Morse was one of the golfers who rescheduled, and he was happy to see clear weather.
“The community really tries to be supportive of folks around the area, and this is a great opportunity for us to do that,” Morse said.
Golf-for-Sight is the club’s biggest fundraiser of the year, bringing in roughly 40 percent of total funds raised, Higby said. Lions begin organizing the tournament in January by seeking sponsors.
“Actual work about getting teams and players for the tournament starts in April, which is about six weeks ahead of when we actually start playing the tournament,” Higby said. “That’s when it really starts hard is trying to get those and to get all the paperwork we’ve got to do to schedule the players on the holes and gifts.”
Higby estimated $14,000 would be raised Saturday to fund various Lions Club programs, which will cover the majority of the cost of the club’s monthly health screenings at the Good Samaritan Center in Lenoir City and the Good Shepherd Center in Madisonville.
“What we spend our money for there is we have an optometrist that is part of the team,” Dick Kolasheski, publicity chairman, said. “We do a vision screening. … If anybody is seen to need glasses, then the optometrist takes a look.”
Those who are determined indigent based on national poverty guidelines will have the cost of the exam and any glasses needed covered by the Lions. The annual cost of the program is about $15,000.
“An adult, if they can’t see they can’t do a lot of the things you and I take for granted,” Kolasheski said. “... By being able to see better, your life is improved.”
The club is also involved in school vision screenings. The Lions have two cameras to scan a child’s eye and give readouts on possible problems for further evaluation.
“Finding vision problems early in life can really prevent catastrophic problems as they get older,” Kolasheski said. “… Juvenile glaucoma, if that’s not found and treated, that can lead to blindness very easily. The diagnostic portion of the vision program, specifically the screening program, can really prevent bigger problems.”
Other projects include donations to various local and national programs.
Kolasheski praised the support of Tellico Village and the greater Loudon County community. “Without that support we would be dead in the water,” he said.
The club’s next major fundraiser is Oktoberfest.
