Any PGA golfer would be thrilled to walk away with a $385,000 purse for winning a one-day golf tournament. That is the amount the Friends of Saint Dominic’s walked away without having to pick up a club. Instead they relied on the goodwill of some 200 golfers, a stellar golf committee and the generosity of several sponsors who contributed the “green” in the Friends’ 16th Annual Golf Tourney held August 4 at the Edgewood Country Club in River Vale, N.J.
“With golf you’re always aiming for the green,” said tourney chairman Ronald J. Sylvestri, senior vice president, Hudson Valley Bank. “With this tourney, green is a double-entendre. But the ‘green’ we raise is more important than the greens we hit with our clubs.”
Sylvestri said he is indebted to the Tourney golf committee and his vice chairs John T. White Jr., senior vice president of Structure Tone, Inc., and David T. Meberg, president and CEO of Consolidated Carpet, who rally the participation of their associates, colleagues and friends, many of whom are in the New York City construction and development business.
“It’s a great day for everyone. But the day’s hole-in-one feeling is when the total amount raised figure is announced at the Tourney dinner and the room explodes with applause and cheers. This is what it is all about – raising funds to help people who are less fortunate, many of whom are children facing enormous challenges,” said Sylvestri.
Sister Joseph Mary Mahoney, president of the Friends of Saint Dominic’s, which is the fund-raising arm of Blauvelt, N.Y.-based social services agency Saint Dominic’s Home, said she feels a bit like Tiger Woods after their annual golf event. “Every year I claim the Tourney’s top prize. However, even though Tiger is a charitable fellow, all of these winnings go directly to charity and helping the people we serve.”
Saint Dominic’s Home is a 130-year-old $46 million nonprofit social services agency that cares for and provides diverse services and programs to more than 2,000 individuals, many of whom are children, and families of all backgrounds that are developmentally disabled, socially disadvantaged and, or, vocationally challenged in New York City and the Lower Hudson Valley.
The 16th Annual Friends of Saint Dominic’s Golf Tourney Committee includes: tourney chairman Ronald J. Sylvestri, senior vice president, Hudson Valley Bank; tourney vice chair John T. White Jr., senior vice president, Structure Tone, Inc.; tourney vice chair David T. Meberg, president and CEO, Consolidated Carpet; tourney Rockland chair Hector A. May, president of Executive Compensation Planners, Inc; tourney host Richard Warren, Esq., Warren & Warren, P.C.; Richard Nardella, account executive, Structure Tone, Inc; Robert Nardella, director, Cushman & Wakefield; William Scanlon, vice president, sales, Allran Electric Corp.; Carlo Valente, vice president, A-Val Architectural Metal Corp.; Raymond Burns, vice president, Wealth Management, Smith Barney, Inc.; Sean Galvin, Estimating Manager, Structure Tone, Inc.; Christopher P. Mee, operations manager, Proskauer Rose LLP; John O’Hare, assistant managing director, Building Contractors Association; Bob Richardson, senior executive VP, Forest Electric Group; Paul Shields, senior vice president, Penguin Air Conditioning, and Edward Burbridge.
