The NYS Forum raises more than $5,000 at Annual 2022 Spring Golf OutingMore than one hundred golfers participated in 18 holes of scramble golf at the Fairways of Halfmoon, raising funds for the Catie Hoch Foundation.The NYS Forum hosted its first Annual Spring Golf Outing in Mechanicville, NY. on Friday, May 6. Over $5,000 was raised in support of the Catie Hoch Foundation, a great local charity established in memory of Catie Hoch, a Clifton Park girl who died from neuroblastoma, an aggressive form of pediatric cancer. This Foundation is an all-volunteer organization where every dollar delivers support for families, fun for kids and funds for a cure. Teams participated in the afternoon event on a dry and cloudy day at the fantastic Fairways of Halfmoon. The golf scramble included morning refreshments at registration sponsored by Recorded Future, lunch at the turn, a post-golf reception sponsored by SHI, 50/50 raffle, and various contests for all players with prizes generously donated by sponsors. Tournament participants enjoyed a variety of competitions in addition to 18 holes of scramble golf tournament play. Activities included a Hank Hudson Brew Pub Putting Green Contest sponsored by Nagarro, men’s and women’s longest drive and closest to pin competitions, a hole-in-one opportunity for a chance to win $5000, and the LaChance/State Farm Insurance “Ball Launcher” where players donated to shoot a ball cannon (up to 325 yards) in place of a drive. LaChance/State Farm was generous enough to match the amount donated for the ball launch to be contributed to the Catie Hoch Foundation. A beverage cart made the rounds throughout the day, sponsored by Greenberg Traurig, and player gift bags were provided to all players, sponsored by Citrix. Contents of the bag were golf gear related donations made by CheckMarx, RedHat, Splunk, Adobe, Nagarro, Fortinet, and GCOM Software. The tournament was also made possible by the support of Hole Sponsors Adobe, Capitol Strategies Group, Dell, Fortinet, Lookout, MVP/Speridian, Nutanix, PruTech Solutions, RedHat, RedLand Strategies, Rubrik, Tech Valley Talent Following the 18 holes, players gathered in the Fairways of Halfmoon Banquet Hall where they enjoyed a buffet meal, and some time for networking. Maureen McHugh (RedHat) who chaired the golf committee and emceed the reception, introduced NYS Chief Information Officer, Angelo “Tony” Riddick who offered up some words on the current state and future of ITS and its relationship with the Forum. Also in attendance was Gina Peca, mother of Catie Hoch who spoke about her daughter and the Foundation. The Forum was thrilled to be able to present her with a ceremonial check for over $5000. Awards were given to Golfers Joe Gagnon, Chris LaPointe (OMIG), Scott Lauer (OMIG), and Joe Schultz, for the best foursome of the day, winning a round of golf for 4 at the Fairways of Halfmoon with a score of 61. Jim Gallucci (Fortinet) and Becky Frederick (OTDA) had the longest drives of the tournament, while Brent Tague and Mary Beth Tice (ITS) got the ball closest to the pin. Winner of the State Farm Swag Raffle was Melissa D'Andrea (Oracle). Special thanks go to 50/50 Raffle winner Greg Mitchell (RG Group) who was extremely gracious and donated the winning $545 back to Catie Hoch Foundation. A Sincere Thank You to all golfers, sponsors, volunteers, and everyone who helped make the NYS Forum’s Spring Golf Outing such a huge success. A special thank you to Maureen McHugh and her Event Committee for their hard work in planning and creating excitement around this fun event. The time you committed made our effort successful in supporting this worthwhile cause. We couldn’t have done it without you. Final thank you to the staff of the fabulous Fairways of Halfmoon and its spectacular conditions. The Forum is already looking forward to next year’s event! About Catie Hoch Foundation: The Catie Hoch Foundation was established in memory of Catie Hoch, a Clifton Park girl who died from neuroblastoma, an aggressive form of pediatric cancer. This Foundation is dedicated to helping kids take a break from cancer. Until Catie's death in May of 2000, she was very involved in establishing the purposes of the Foundation - making sure that her favorite places were included on the list of things that kids in treatment should do. For more information, please visit https://www.catiehochfoundation.org/ To view all photos taken from the event, Click Here |
