Next Friday will mark the 22^nd year of the Beaufort County Community College Foundation Golf Tournament, the Foundation’s biggest fundraiser of the year, to help students in need of scholarships and grant money to attend school.

Serena Sullivan, executive director of the BCCC Foundation, said this year’s tournament is a little different from previous years in that the money raised will go toward emergency grants.

“Primarily it’s to help our students stay in school,” she said. “The last thing we want is for any student to feel like they have to leave the college.”

Sullivan said the Foundation decided to focus on emergency grants this time because of the college’s decision to stop participating in the Federal Direct Student Loan program, effective July 1. Also, there won’t be other scholarships until the spring, she said.

BCCC announced its decision last March to stop participating in the loan program because of the rising default rate on student loans. If the rate had reached 30 percent, then the college could’ve faced sanctions.

Sullivan said the emergency grant money is a good way to support those students who relied on the student loan program and help them be able to continue attending school.

“We felt there may be more of a struggle for our students,” she said. “Without the loan options, we thought there might be a higher need for an emergency situation.”

According to a press release, PotashCorp-Aurora is the main sponsor of the event, but many other local businesses have also signed on as co-sponsors. Businesses that give at least $1,000 to the event can also enter a team in the tournament.

Prizes will be given to the teams with the best scores, for “closest to the pin” shots and holes-in one. “The tournament will be a four-person super ball format with teams pre-flighted based on each golfer’s handicap,” the release stated.

“It’s amazing how much support we’ve got. … People have been very generous,” Sullivan said. “This is a tier 1 county, and this helps (students).”

She said many companies that have given scholarship money in the past have agreed to sponsor emergency grants on top of the usual scholarships.

“The support is still there tenfold,” Sullivan said. “It’s all about the students and the community supporting those students.”

 

To register for the event or to sponsor it, contact Marcia Norwood at 252-940-6218 or Serena Sullivan at 252-940-6326 for more information. Entry fee is $80 per person and $320 for a team. The shotgun tee-off will be Oct. 16 at 1 p.m. at the Washington Yacht & Country Club.