Torrential rains the day before could not deter the sunshine and fun during the third annual Ryan Kendall Iverson Foundation golf outing held Oct. 12 at the Silverstone Golf Club in Las Vegas. Nor could it deter a likely record amount of money raised this year to benefit the local John F. Miller School for Special Education.
Some 204 golfers participated in the flood-delayed outing on what turned out to be a sunny and comfortable Friday afternoon after heavy rains pummeled the area the prior two days.
“I never heard of a flood delay, but we were delayed more than an hour because the course got flooded from the night before,” said Bonnie Iverson, co-director, Iverson Foundation. But the morning delay gave ample opportunity for golfers to network and learn more about each other.
“Everybody was in great spirits,” said Iverson. “Lots of them know each other from the tradeshow floor but are too busy to talk. This gave them a nice place to network. People had fun dodging puddles and water. It was wild. People had a blast.”
With a very low score of 53, the team comprised of Quest Drape’s Lee Dunlap, CEO and founder; Michael Hawkins, operations director; and employee Freddie Wilmot along with Brad Ball, president, Ardent Creative, officially won the charitable golf tournament. The event also saw its greatest participation in fund-raising raffles as it awarded 46-inch flat-screen TVs to two lucky winners.
Unlike many charities, the Iverson Foundation has virtually no overhead. The Iversons serve as its only officers and are not paid for the work they do on behalf of the registered 501(c) (3) charity. Iverson expects this year’s event to top the about $35,000 raised last year. But donations continue to come in, and they won’t have a final tally for at least a few more weeks.
“We enjoy doing it. It truly is a labor of love. It’s just so exciting for Todd and I,” said Iverson. “The exposition industry has really embraced our event. We will raise more money than we did last year.”
The tournament raised some $70,000 during its first two years with all proceeds donated to the John F. Miller School for Special Education. With this year’s tally, the total easily should exceed $100,000 raised and donated to the school since the tournament was begun in 2010. Every cent raised buys educational equipment and materials for the special education students.
The tournament is named after the Iverson’s son, Ryan, who had a rare neurological disorder as an infant and attended the John F. Miller School until his death in 2010. The International Association of Exhibitions and Events and Global Experience Specialists provide a great deal of assistance when planning and executing the charitable golf outing, which has become a very popular event within the exhibitions industry. The 2013 event already is slated for Oct. 11 at the Silverstone Golf Club in Las Vegas.
