Brews and Brothers In Arms Charity Golf Outing Declared a Success

| August 28, 2018

OIL CITY, Pa. (EYT) – The newly-minted Brews and Brothers In Arms Charity Golf Outing has been declared a success after raising over $1,000.00 for the Venango Training and Development Center’s Fairweather Veterans Lodge.

The inaugural event, held on Sunday, August 26, was the brainchild of local Army veteran Eric Phenicie.

Phenicie said he’s been considering creating a new local golf outing for a number of years and finally decided to take the plunge this year.

“I was going to do it for neuroblastoma. My two-year-old son was diagnosed with neuroblastoma at eleven months old, and I’d still like to do that someday, as well. But, being a vet, I’ve seen a lot of the guys who turn to golf and use it as a good mental break from the everyday chaos, so I decided to make it a veteran’s event,” Phenicie said.

One of the things that made this outing different than many others was the request for three-man teams, rather than the usual four-man teams.

“Our plan was to do three-man teams, then pair each team with a local vet for their fourth man. It highlights local veterans and creates interaction with the veteran community. I mean – how often will some people, like some of the high school kids, get to have a conversation and really spend time with a Korean War Vet?”

Phenicie said he originally considered having the outing benefit the 22 Kill Project, which seeks to combat suicide by empowering veterans, first responders, and their families, but later decided he wanted to focus more on the local area.

“I was delivering mail to Senator Scott Hutchinson’s office and asked the secretaries there about local organizations. They said VTDC has a four-man veterans home called the Fairweather Veterans Lodge.”

“Once we heard about it, we thought it was perfect: a smaller, local thing. I wasn’t even aware of it before.”

Phenicie said the lodge opened about two years ago.

According to its website, it provides living arrangements “designed specifically for persons that are veterans with mental illness who are active in their recovery and wish to live more independently.”

“We wanted to celebrate local businesses, through their sponsorship, while also bringing awareness to the home. There are a lot of great programs out there, but a lot of them are so far away, in Colorado or Florida. This is a place, in essence, that people could turn to locally,” Phenicie said.

Though the outing didn’t have a full field of teams to participate, they did have ten teams, for a total of 40 people participating. Between the outing itself, the Chinese Auction, and the 50/50, they raised a total of $1,345.00 for the Venango Training and Development Center’s Fairweather Veterans Lodge.

“About 28 veterans attended, and those guys really went out of their way to spend money and have fun. It was really because of them that we were able to crack the $1,000.00 mark that was our goal.”

Though technically a success, raising more than their goal, Phenicie says he plans to work hard on turning it into an annual event and raising even more money in the future.

“Moving forward, we learned how to do differently. This year, the biggest take away was we didn’t get enough exposure early enough to fill out teams.”

Phenicie also noted that he’s continuing to look into local organizations that benefit veterans, considering the possibility of rotating which organization the outing benefits each year.

“People say it takes two to three years to really fill a new outing. Once we get it going yearly, my goal is going to be $5,000.00 to $10,000.00 raised at each outing.”


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