Marvin Declare, president and executive director of the Psalm 23 Transition Society, is driving all over the province picking up sponsorship and prize packages for the inaugural Million Dollar Charity Hole-In-One Contest.
Psalm 23 will be hosting the fundraising and awareness event at the 108 Mile Golf Resort, Sept. 9 – 18.
Noting this event is being held exclusively at the 108 Mile Golf Resort, Declare says he is travelling the province looking for sponsors and encouraging people to come to the 108 to participate in the contest, which features a lot of great prizes and an opportunity for three people to have shot at getting a hole-in-one on the final day for a cool $1 million.
From the way it has been growing, Declare says he is positive it will be an annual event.
“Our expectations aren’t large. This first year is about building relationships with potential sponsors, and building awareness in the community.
“This is us reaching out of our 59 Mile area and bringing some fun into the community and building relationships.”
Declare notes he already has prizes from Williams Lake, the Fraser Valley, the Okanagan, Kamloops, Merritt and, of course, 100 Mile House.
The key is trying to get some play-and-stay packages, he says, so local folks can visit other areas of the province. Declare adds he has some Abbotsford Heat hockey game packages already and is trying to put together a package for a B.C. Lions game in November.
So how do people get in on the opportunity to win $1 million?
Over the nine-day qualifying contest Sept. 9 – 18, folks can drop in to 108 Mile Golf Resort driving range and pay $10 for 12 balls, $20 for 30 balls or $50 for 100 balls and shoot for a hole-in-one or closest to the pin (KP) at a distance of approximately 95 yards.
The top seven golfers and five other participants randomly drawn each day will qualify for the quarter-finals on Sept. 18.
Declare says there will be a Women’s Day that will run alongside the regular daily qualifying action on Sept. 12, at the driving range. The top 7 women closest to the pin will automatically be entered into the quarter-finals.
Youths, 17 years and under, will also have a special qualifier that will run alongside of the regular daily qualifying action on Sept. 17.
The top five youth golfers closest to the pin will automatically be entered into the quarter-finals.
Declare says this means there will be 120 golfers vying for the $10,000 prize for getting a hole-in-one in the quarter-finals, starting at 1 p.m. on Sept. 18.
All qualifiers from the nine-day contest will be given three shots for a hole-in-one at a distance of approximately 160 yards at the driving range.
If more than one person cans a hole-in-one, there will be a shoot-off for closest to the pin and that person will go home $10,000 richer.
The top 10 golfers from the quarter-finals will each receive one shot at a chance to win $100,000 with a hole-in-one at a distance of approximately 165 yards on 108 Resort Golf Course hole No. 10.
Again, if there’s more than one ace in the semifinals, there will be a shoot-off to determine the $100,000 prize winner.
Then the top three golfers move on to the million-dollar finals. The tees will be moved 10 yards back, and they each get one shot to win $1 million by hitting a hole-in-one.
Declare says there will be a lot of prizes handed out during the course of the event.
The top seven daily qualifiers, as well as the women and youth qualifiers, will receive prizes.
“We also hope to have enough prizes for our top 10 qualifiers in the quarter-finals, and the top three will all receive the larger gift packages, according to their KP positions.”
All the money raised will go directly into the operation of the training centre at 59 Mile, not only to deal with monthly operating deficits but also to do renovations to help the centre become self-supporting, Declare says.
Currently, the centre is for men only, he adds, but they want to move their women’s facility to 59 Mile next year, and have a building constructed so they can offer support for couples within the next couple of years.
“We want people to know we’re here and we can help them as families or as individuals.
“We want to break that little bit of a stigma about people dealing with addictions.”
Declare says he wants to thank everyone for the community support and it makes Psalm 23 feel appreciated.