By LINDA CHION KENNEY
The call is out for golfers of all levels for the 28th annual tournament hosted by the Greater Riverview Chamber of Commerce, which recently celebrated a new year with an annual dinner and awards ceremony for area businesses and more.
Open to both members and the general public, the chamber tournament is set for a 12:30 p.m. shotgun start Saturday, March 5, at the Summerfield Crossings Golf Club in Riverview. Both golfers and non-golfers are set to attend the tournament, which features a midway in the putting green from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., featuring free food samples and business vendors and their wares.
Returning again, at noon, is the annual electric ball drop, sponsored by Bryan Hindman Electric, which at the 27th annual tournament netted its winner more than $1,000. The person who purchases the ball that falls closest to the pin is set to receive 60 percent of the funds collected. If the winner is not present for the drop, the draw is 50 percent. The cost to enter is $5 for one ball, $10 for three, $15 for five, $20 for seven, $50 for 19 and $100 for 40.
Ball drop purchases and tournament registration is ongoing, as Tanya Doran, the chamber’s chief executive officer, promises a day of fun, both on and off the links.
Gerardo Luna Photographs
Cliff Fletcher, left, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office’s Bloomingdale community resource deputy, received Citizen of the Year recognition at the Jan. 21 Riverview chamber dinner. With him is the award’s previous winner, Larry Brooks of A & A Mortgage Funding and the Faces of Courage Foundation
“Whether you golf or not, it’s all the same,” Doran said. “We want you to come out and have a good time. It’s a very relaxed golf tournament, and we always throw in a cool theme. This years it’s a luau.”
The entry fee is $115, with extra fee items available as well, including for dinner ($25), mulligan ($10), putting contest ($10) and wagon of cheer raffle ticket ($20). Additional contests include hole-in-one, closest to the pin, golf ball launcher and lady’s and men’s longest drives.
As always, the annual tournament serves a purpose beyond raising funds for the chamber, Doran said.
“Building relationships, that’s one of my very favorite things about the golf tournament,” Doran said. “People who normally wouldn’t come to a networking event, they will come out to play golf.”
It’s the chamber’s second signature event of the young year, coming after the annual “Down on the Bayou” membership and awards dinner, held Jan. 21 at Tabellas at Delaney Creek, which drew just under 300 attendees, Doran said. The newly opened outdoor venue in Tampa, at 5818 Causeway Blvd., features multiple private event spaces on six acres, described as “lush Florida landscape.”
Gerardo Luna Photographs
The program for the Riverview chamber’s Jan. 21 annual membership and awards dinner notes its theme, “Down on the Bayou.”
“It was good to get people back together,” Doran said, noting that last year’s awards ceremony was held via Zoom because of pandemic protocols. “Tabellas could adequately accommodate hundreds of people in an outdoor setting.”
Seven awards were presented at the annual dinner, including to three of the nine finalists in the business of the year categories. Myers Law P.A. earned its distinction in the category for up to five employees; HiTech Automotive received its honor for up to 20 employees; Align Right Realty of Riverview, for more than 20 employees.
Bloomingdale Community Resource Deputy Cliff Fletcher, with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, received Citizen of the Year recognition while internal chamber recognition went to Lisa Jordan of Accent American (Ambassador of the Year), Kristi McCart of McCart & Tesmer P.A. (Volunteer of the Year) and Chris Nelson of LegalShield (Shining Star).
Also at the dinner, the chamber’s board of new and returning members took their oaths, including this year’s chair, Michael Broussard, owner of The Flying Locksmiths, who succeeds immediate past chair, Janet Noah, director of community relations at The Bridges Retirement Community in Riverview.
Gerardo Luna Photographs
Dressed appropriately for the Greater Riverview Chamber of Commerce’s “Down on the Bayou” annual dinner and awards ceremony are Michael Broussard, board chair and owner of The Flying Locksmiths, and Janet Noah, immediate past chair and director of communications at The Bridges Retirement Community.
Rounding out the board are Tammy See (OEL Heating & Cooling), board chair elect; Christian Beiter (Preservation 1st Financial Group), treasurer; Theresa Sharkey (Your Pie), treasurer-elect; Jim Johnson (retired), board emeritus; and Doran. Also on the board are Nikki Foster (The Mosaic Company), Mike Jones (Florida Department of Education Vocational Rehabilitation), Phil Minden (St. Joseph’s Hospital – South), Dawn Myers (Myers Law P.A.), Rick Monsipapa (Nail the Sale), Jeff Sheffer (Pronesis Technology Group) and Elena Westrop (Charity Clothing Pickup).
For more on chamber business and the March 5 golf tournament, visit www.RiverviewChamber.com/. Call: 813-234-5944. The chamber is in the Winthrop Professional Building, 6152 Delancey Station Street, Suite 205, Riverview.
Gerardo Luna Photographs
The decorated boat from Charity Clothing Pickup is an appropriate touch to the Riverview chamber’s “Down on the Bayou” membership and awards dinner, held Jan. 21 at Tabellas at Delaney Creek, an outdoor venue in Tampa.