25th Anniversary Golf Tournament Raises $65,000 for Hope Enterprises

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. –  Hope Enterprises, which provides services to individuals with intellectual disABILITIES in Lycoming, Clinton, Northumberland, Columbia, Montour, Snyder, and Union counties, hosted its 25th Anniversary Golf Tournament June 15 at White Deer Golf Complex in Montgomery. The tournament, which is part of the Liberty Mutual Invitational™, raised $65,000. The tournament was presented by Evergreen Wealth Solutions.

“We’re thankful to the community for the support that it has given Hope Enterprises over many, many years,” said Jim Gates, a member of the tournament committee and 45-year member of the Hope board. “Hope Enterprises has served the community for over 60 years, and the success of the tournament is continuing recognition of how well the community has supported the mission of Hope.”

With 288 golfers and more than 60 local sponsors, the event is the single largest annual fundraiser for Hope. Tom O’Malley Jr., a former Major League Baseball player whose father had a career with Liberty Mutual, served as tournament host.

The tournament is played on two 18-hole golf courses and carries the weight of two Liberty Mutual Insurance Invitational™ events. Liberty Mutual underwrites the cost of all event prizes. Prizes were awarded to first, second, and third place winners for each of the two courses. In addition, the team of Zach Prowant, Jesse Lindsay, Nick Conklin and Zac Baggett won the grand prize, which includes an invitation to play in the Liberty Mutual Insurance Invitational National Finals at Pinehurst Golf Resort in North Carolina.

Launched in 1993 as a local fundraiser to support Hope’s mission, the tournament originally was sponsored by the Sycamore Ave. Liberty Mutual office with some sponsorship money donated by the company’s national office. Jim Dinsmore, a wealth manager for Evergreen Wealth Solutions who previously worked for Liberty Mutual for 34 years, personally sponsored the tournament for many years after the Sycamore Ave. office experienced a corporate restructuring. He was instrumental in linking the Hope Golf Tournament with the national Liberty Mutual Invitational™ event in 2013.

“We’ve raised more money in five years than we raised in the previous 20,” said Dinsmore. “When we first started, we had a somewhat limited budget. If you won, you got big coolers. We’d have these big coolers stacked. It was a running joke: ‘Go play Hope and get a cooler.’ I always got a kick out of that. Now we get about $100K in prizes and gifts to give out.”

Kris Ottaviano of Hope’s programs and services division managed the tournament for 18 years through 2017 and was recognized for her service during this year’s event. 

“Twenty-five years is a long time for people to still look forward to and support a fundraising event,” said Ottaviano. “We’ve gone from having a difficult time trying to fill both courses to what is now – a sold-out, waiting-list event. Every year, I love to see all 288 golfers sitting in their carts waiting to tee off. It’s quite a sight.”
First place winners from the day include the foursomes of: Jerry Wertz, Derrick Zechman, Jim Lazorka and John Moser; and Mike Schall, Dave Schall, Ben Howe and Darrin Bishof.