The Vermilion Lions Club hosted their 23rd Annual Texas Scramble Golf Tournament at the Vermilion Golf and Country Club on June 10, at 1 p.m.
The Vermilion Lions Club was ecstatic to once again be able to hold a golf tournament in support of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) and Canadians with vision loss; after having to take a two-year hiatus due to COVID.
Forty-one golfers attended and battled the extremely windy conditions for the cause. During the game participants were challenged by a long blind drive for men and women, a longest blind fold putt, and had the opportunity to win a $10,000 hole-in-one prize; however either way every golfer went home with a prize. Once golfing was complete attendees were able to enjoy a steak supper with all the trimmings. They also had the opportunity to try on glasses that simulated macular degeneration, cataracts, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy.
According to cnib.ca, an estimated 1.5 million Canadians identify themselves as having a sight loss and an estimated 5.59 million more have an eye disease that could cause sight loss. Of the four major eye diseases; 3,541,000 people are affected by cataracts, 1,574,000 are reported to have age-related macular degeneration, 294,600 have glaucoma and 749,800 people have been affected by diabetic retinopathy. They also say that every 10 minutes someone in Canada begins losing their sight and that each year, 50,000 Canadians will lose their sight which significantly impacts their well-being and quality of life.
Ashlee Rolheiser, CNIB Manager of Philanthropy for Alberta and the Northwest Territories since 2020 said that the CNIB Golf Tournament is the core of what they do.
“This event gets the community together to help those living with blindness or vision loss! These events are incredibly important, as CNIB and the Vermilion Lions Club have been collaborating for more than two decades,” commented Ashlee.
Lions Club member and organzier of the tournament Cliff Rolheiser was surprised and grateful for the number of participants.
“When we went into the tournament this year I didn’t think we would have a great turnout due to the all the stuff going on such as COVID, but we had an excellent turnout and we are very grateful for all the sponsors and to the community who participated. This year we are raising more money for the CNIB than ever before.” He also said, “This year we worked through a hardship because some of our key members were unavailable due to personal reasons. We are all looking forward to next year and nicer weather.”