The 53rd National Golf Tournament was hosted by Nest 80, South Bend, Ind., last month. Tournament chairs Bob Kuzmicz and Lorra Junk did a great job organizing the event. The staff at Nest 80 was amazing, especially Kim and Mike. Ken Staszewski and his crew cooked fabulous food for both nights!
One hundred and twelve golfers happily arrived in South Bend on Wednesday to check in, catch up and enjoy each other’s company.
Both hotels were very close to the Nest hall; even though the Nest provided shuttle service.
The courses were fairly close as well. Both mornings tee-off time was at 9 a.m. on beautiful days! The weather was probably the best we have ever had! Each golfer received a goodie bag and a bottle of water compliments of Nest 80.
The folks at Elbel and Erskine could not have been nicer. Their entire staffs were very kind and accommodating. We hear that Erskine had never sold so much food or beverages as the day we were there.
Our first day was at Erskine, and they did not have a sound system. It was encouraging to me how many noticed and commented about our not singing the anthems.
Friday morning, Sue Kobek and Vicky Mlynarczyk (South Bend) led us in the singing of the Polish Anthem. Dave Grine (New Castle) then led us in the singing of our National Anthem.
Neither course had a cart person, so Sandy Czerniewski (St. Louis) and Dan Dolata (Pittsburgh) (both of whom are golfers but were unable to golf due to health reasons) who had come to support the tournament, drove around both days to keep the golfers hydrated!
District VI President Mary Pluta took care of the card game.
District VI National Director Mark Albin attended both days and was very helpful. He took pictures of each group and shared them with Courtney.
At the turn, when the golfers came in, Mark took a photo of their score card. Mark would read the scores while I would input them into the computer and John (Nicpon) would write the scores for the skins! Beginning the tabulations during the day made the final scoring much simpler.
The four of us had a great time and they made my life much easier!
Winners for both events were both announced on Friday evening. Thursday is a Singles event and Friday is a Doubles Scramble. Moving forward, we will announce Thursdays’ winners Thursday evening and Fridays’ winners on Friday evening.
Entertainment was fun each evening with some impressive karaoke!
Most of our Districts were represented:
District II:
• Nest 45, St. Louis, MO
• Nest 907, Cicero, IL
District IV:
• Nest 8, Pittsburgh
• Nest 41, New Kensington, PA
• Nest 146, New Castle, PA
• Nest 159, Ford City, PA
• Nest 182, Ambridge, PA
• Nest 804, Headquarters
District V:
• Nest 307, Southington, CT
• Nest 519, Middletown, CT
• Nest 580, Pittsfield, MA
District VI:
• Nest 4, South Bend, IN
• Nest 80, South Bend, IN
• Nest 276, Muskegon, MI
• Nest 564, LaPorte, IN
District IX:
• Nest 52, Rochester, NY
• Nest 74, Auburn, NY
• Nest 430, Auburn, NY
• Nest 493, Batavia, NY
• Nest 610, Erie, PA
District XIII:
• Nest 31, Detroit, MI
• Nest 79, Southgate, MI
• Nest 86, Hamtramck, MI
• Nest 336, Jackson, MI
Officers in attendance:
• Former Second VP Bobby Joe Gorny
• Former District VI Director Bill Junk (and Nest 80 President)
• Former National Golf Commissioner Mary Whalen
• Insurance Agent John Denning
• District VI National Director Mark Albin
• District XIII National Director Chuck Johns
• District VI President Mary Pluta
• Parkway Advisors-Chad Hoes
• National Marketing Director Jared Gostanczik
• National Secretary/Treasurer Ryan Gregg
• National President Tim Kuzma
The 2023 54th National Golf Tournament will be hosted by Nest 493, Batavia, N.Y. In 2024, the PFA will head back to Jackson, Mich. for the 55th event.
This year’s tournament winners and my awards will be announced in my next blog!
Czolem & FORE!