The Central Blair Recreation and Park Commission has leveraged a suggestion made last December by the family of a man long connected with the commission that could enable the commission’s annual golf tournament to take flight.

The suggestion from the family of late Blair County NAACP President Don Witherspoon was to hold a second golf tournament in memory of Witherspoon, commission Executive Director Mike Hofer said at a recent commission meeting.

Hofer deflected that suggestion, persuading the family of his late friend and fellow supporter of recreation opportunities for young people that it would be better to hold a benefit raffle in Witherspoon’s name, to combine the raffle with the existing golf tournament held in August and to name the tournament for Witherspoon — all in service of providing money for the commission’s scholarship fund, which helps pay program fees for kids from needy families.

Based on the response so far, linking Witherspoon’s name to the tournament has amplified the community’s response, as all 32 team spots sold out within a week and a half of starting to publicize the event in the business community, according to Hofer.

The combined event is in such “tremendous shape” that Hofer started contemplating the creation of an afternoon “flight” of teams, to complement the 32 that will be teeing off in the morning, he told the commission board.

It would take a total of 46 teams to hold an afternoon flight, he said.

About half a dozen additional teams had committed for that afternoon flight as of a meeting last week.

Seven or eight additional teams would be enough, and Hofer is confident he could persuade three prior participants, he said.

With the possible additional participation plus the raffle, the total take for the combined event could reach $35,000 — $25,000 for the tournament and $10,000 from the raffle, Hofer predicted.

That compares to the typical tournament profit of $15,000, he said.

Witherspoon was a critical influence in his professional life, Hofer said.

When Hofer took the job as executive director of the commission, Witherspoon was “the first person to come in and sit and talk with me,” he said.

They quickly found that their visions and goals for the community aligned, which led to their founding, together with former law enforcement professional Randy Feathers, of the Booker T. Washington Revitalization Corp., which is still going strong, Hofer said.

The corporation’s mission is “to support and enhance the building of parks and recreational spaces” in central Blair County, according to a site in greaternonprofits.org.

“Making an impact on kids in the community and families in need was always his mission and always my mission,” Hofer said.

The Don Witherspoon Memorial Golf Classic and the Don Witherspoon Memorial Scholarship Fund Raffle will take place at Sinking Valley Country Club on July 27.

The raffle proceeds will establish a fund whose earnings the Witherspoon family can direct toward specific commission programs.

For more information, contact the commission at 814-949-2231.

Dinner a success

The commission’s Community Classic Dinner in February generated far more revenue than it had ever done before: $45,000, with the previous high being in the upper $30,000s, according to Hofer.

Keynote speaker at the event was former Steeler Chris Hoke, while Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Altoona CEO Scott Filler was honored as Respected Citizen.

The commission’s partners for the event were the Revitalization Corporation and Beating the Odds Foundation, which paid for the guest speaker and associated costs, along with the catering, Hofer said. The take for the event was divided three ways among those organizations, with the commission’s share going toward its scholarship fund and the corporation’s share going for park projects and maintenance. The foundation is “an educational nonprofit that empowers middle and high school students to overcome adversity and achieve their goals,” according to an online source.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.