CARIBOU, Maine — The 35th annual Cary Classic Benefit Golf Tournament is set for Saturday, July 7, at the Caribou Country Club. Over the years, the tourney has raised nearly $275,000 to improve health care services at Cary Medical Center.
Katahdin Trust Company is in its fifth year as the major sponsor.
“We are so grateful to Katahdin Trust Company for their most generous support,” said Tamra Kilcollins, executive director of the Jefferson Cary Foundation. “Thanks to their support, we have been able to maintain this great golf event and keep it as one of the premier golf tournaments in Maine.”
Last year, the Cary Classic format was changed from a two-day to a one-day tournament.
“With the success of last year’s tournament and positive feedback from our golfers, we are continuing with a one-day event. And, going with a one-day Saturday tournament, it also provides us with an option for a rain date on Sunday given inclement weather on Saturday,” Kilcollins said.
“We are very pleased to be the major sponsor for this annual event,” said Craig
Staples, Katahdin Trust vice president and commercial services officer. “It is an honor to support organizations like Jefferson Cary Foundation that work so hard to ensure that Aroostook County residents have access to the latest advances in healthcare. We appreciate all that they do.”
The tournament features $6,000 in gift card prizes, and in celebration of the 35th anniversary, a $35,000 hole-in-one prize. There also is a chance to win two tickets to the Dell Technologies Championship held in Boston on Labor Day weekend, with other prizes provided by local sponsors.
Peter Doebener, president of the Jefferson Cary Foundation, said the tournament offers golfers a great value beyond the chance to win prizes.
“For their registration fee, the golfer gets a free practice round on Friday, 18 holes of golf on Saturday, a beautiful golf shirt, a post-tournament reception and a chance to play on one of the County’s pristine nine-hole golf courses,” Doebener said. “The fact that all the funds raised this year will go toward the 3-D Imaging Project in the hospital’s Women’s Imaging Center makes it all the better. This is a very special tournament that has built a tradition over more than three decades”.
In addition to Katahdin Trust Company as the major tournament sponsor, the event also features corporate and hole sponsors, and a number of prize or cash sponsors. It takes many sponsors to make the tournament a success, according to organizers.
“We have sponsors that have been with us for more than 30 years,” Doebener said. “It means so much to the tournament and every dollar counts. We welcome businesses, organizations and individuals to become hole sponsors, prize sponsors, or to contribute in any way they can. This is the major fundraising event for the foundation each year and our sponsors make it all possible.”
Golfers interested in playing in the tournament should register by Thursday, July 5, and are asked to mail their entry fee ($65 for members or $75 for non-members) and handicap to the Caribou Country Club, P.O. Box 633, Caribou, Maine, 04736, or by calling the clubhouse at 493-3933.
Tee-off times are 7:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. The registration fee includes a free practice round on Friday, July 6. Golfers can visit www.carymedicalcenter.org for more information or contact the Jefferson Cary Foundation office at 493-4849.
