The Anson County Chamber of Commerce held its 16th annual Chamber Open on April 22 at Twin Valley Country Club.
With teams booked and many volunteers lined up, all were prepared for a the tournament. Players had their choice of an 8 a.m. or 1 p.n. tee time, with sunshine in the morning and some showers possible for the afternoon.
The first-place winners of the tournament were B & B Pest Control (Barry James, Alan Hildreth, Darrell Poe and Fred Sparger). In at second was Wadesboro Tire and Automotive (John Martin, Jay Vernon, Johnny Martin and Ronald Diggs), and coming in for third was Uwharrie Bank (Kyle Eudy, David Burns, Nathan Goodwin and Ronnie Barnhill).
The winner of the split-the-pot was Ginger Phillips. The winner of the golf ball drop was J.R. Hasty. Danny McRae had the longest putt in the morning and Bob Hill had it in the afternoon. The award for the longest drive went to James Clontz for the morning and Lewis Adams for the afternoon. The award for being closest to the pin went to Arnold Smith for the morning and Mike Vetter for the afternoon. This year’s raffle winners were Todd Parker for the grill and Todd Pegram for the patio heater.
“Thank you all so very much for the support to continually make this event the premier event that it is,” Shelby Emrich, interim executive director of the chamber, said in a press release.
In the release, Chamber officials said that the event would not have been as successful as it was without the support of the sponsors, volunteers and golfers.
Emrich thanked the presenting co-sponsor for the year, Waste Connections of the Carolinas, as well as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Tyson, Refreshment Services Inc., R.A. Jefferies, Uwharrie Bank and IGA of Wadesboro. Emrich also thanked Russell Sikes of Plank Road Realty for cooking the chicken.
The Chamber acknowledged several others for their contributions to the event, including Rep. Mark Brody for being the lunch sponsor. It also thanked Ambassador Health and Rehab of Wadesboro and H.W. Little Hardware for being the raffle sponsors. Several companies donated goodie bag items: Plank Road Realty, Lifetouch, Carolinas HealthCare System, Pee Dee Electric, Turner & Tyson CPA, Waste Connections of the Carolinas and State Farm, as well as those that sponsored teams and hole signs.
The drink cart sponsors this year were Anson Family Optometric and Kiker Resource Management. The Hole In One Sponsor was Anson Health and Rehabilitation. The Chamber also thanked Pee Dee Electric for the use of its bucket truck for the ball drop and Eli Randall of Pee Dee for operating it.
Emrich also thanked Mitch Moretz for coming back to lend a hand and the staff at Twin Valley Country Club for their support.
“I have to give a huge thank you to the golf committee: Terri Martin, Brandon Chewning, Jilla Gathings, Tommy Allen and Ryan Teal,” Emrich said.
She went on to say that without those volunteers the event would not have been as successful and that she appreciated each one of them. She also gave a big thanks to Scott Collier and the 2016 Leadership Anson Class, Julian Swittenberg, Susan Thomas, and Bailey and Madison Emrich for helping out, as well.
“I also want to thank the Chamber board of directors for all their help and support,” Emrich said.
Next year’s Chamber Open will be held on April 7, 2017.
