Mid-Florida’s House to Home program held a fundraising golf tournament at Brooksville Golf and Country Club on Friday, Oct. 27. The proceeds raised at the tournament will go towards affordable housing in the county. It was a day of fun for the 102 golfers who represented the 18 different companies that participated in the competition. Some of the companies that sent golfers included Citarella Termite Pest Management and Accent Insurance, while companies such as Holmes Family Foundation and Ackley Dental Group were sponsors for the event. Richard Sanvenero, director of the affordable housing division of Mid Florida Community Services, was in a jovial mood and was appreciative of everyone who helped make the day a success.
“Thank you, everybody, and volunteers coming out today,” Sanvenero said. “You guys are supporting the affordable housing that we meet here in Hernando County for Hernando County people. Mid Florida Community Services has seven different programs. We are there for you guys… To tell you the truth, what a great place to work. I say that truthfully because we are there to help the community in various ways and it all gels with the teamwork.”
According to the Mid Florida Community Services website, the mid-size nonprofit is a 501(c)(3) Community Action agency with the goal of eliminating the causes of poverty through a comprehensive service delivery approach. Their funding and resources are primarily obtained from “pass through” grants originating at the federal and state levels while also relying heavily on local donors, partners, in-kind contributions, fundraising activities, and volunteer support as a key strategy to long term sustainability.
Mid Florida is one of the largest call-to-action companies in the state of Florida and they have everything from weatherization to senior services to child advocacy. According to Sanvenero, they have one of the strongest advocacies in the state of Florida for children. Formerly Habitat for Humanity of Hernando County, the affordable home-building arm of MFCS, is now known as House to Home. When the organization was part of Habitat, they labored under various restrictions that they have now removed from themselves since they became Mid Florida Community Services.
Along with the 100-plus participants, Sanvenero and company had 16 volunteers helping to make the day’s festivities move along smoothly. Though there were no professional golfers at the tournament, there were amateurs of all other aptitudes for the sport. Before they teed off, the Mid Florida director joked that everyone, himself included, were all wannabes.
“We’re all wannabes,” said Sanvenero. “We have 102 wannabes. So out of 102, we may get three that are incredibly professional shots, but that’s not happening to anybody you’re seeing right now, not in this vicinity anyway.”
Per tournament rules, men played the white tees, and the women played the silver tees, except whenever there was a par three. At those holes, all participants had the option to start from farther back as they were all part of the hole-in-one challenges set up for this event. Each of these holes was over 150 yards when hit from the designated challenge tee distances. The tournament was a scramble format. This is where the foursome all hits their shots and then the best shot is taken. This allows players of different skills to be able to play together.
All participants were given a pair of drink tickets to help get them started off with a couple of free drinks and they had someone driving around the course with a cart loaded with alcoholic beverages at the ready for the participants.
When everything was said and done, the foursome from Brewer & Sons Funeral Home took first place at the competition, the quartet from Wilson Technology Group took silver, and Enterprise Fleet Management earned third place. Afterward, golfers were invited to gather for refreshments and an Italian-style buffet spread in the clubhouse. For anyone wishing to find more information or is looking to help, Sanvenero recommends people go to Mid Florida’s website at www.mfcs.us.com.
