Nine nonprofit groups serving Ceres were presented with donation checks at a small ceremony held Wednesday afternoon from the proceeds of the second annual River Classic Golf Tournament.
The tournament was held on Friday, Sept. 26 at River Oaks Golf Course & Event Center. The course was shut down exclusively for tournament play which drew 25 foursome teams – far more than the 14 teams at last year’s inaugural event.
“The whole point of our golf tournament is to give back into our community, to give back to our nonprofits,” said Ceres Chamber of Commerce President Brandy Meyer.
Teams paid $500 to play for a good cause, netting thousands of dollars for the Chamber to distribute to nonprofit organizations and community causes.
Presented checks at BK Books & More were the Ceres Lions Club, Ceres Police SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team, Howard Prep, formerly Howard Training Center, Ceres Historical Society, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Ceres Youth Baseball/Ceres Youth Soccer and the Visually Impaired Persons Support (VIPS) of Stanislaus County.
Jeff J.T. Pappas will also be receiving a donation for youth programs as well as the Ceres Chamber of Commerce.
Tournament organizer Leon Evans was elated over the turnout of the tournament, saying it grew by about 50 percent from the 2024 event.
“The word is out, everyone leaves and they’re like, it’s almost like when you go to a friend’s house and just hang out, just very easy, great crowd and the weather’s perfect,” said Evans. “I think we’re onto something and we’re doing it for all the right reasons.”
The tournament raised double what it did in 2024, reported Meyer “so we’re giving back more than we did last year.”
Meyer said the tournament has maxed out the number of teams it can have but hopes to attract more sponsors from businesses and individuals next year.
She stressed that the team that puts on the event are all volunteers and all proceeds go to the community groups.
“If we can get this up another 50 percent year over year we can hopefully make an impact on people’s lives,” added Evans.
John Warren accepted the check on behalf of the VFW Post #10851 on behalf of Freddy Morales who was terminally ill and died the next morning.
“Thank you – this will be a big assist for us moving through our year because we’re a small post,” said Warren.
The post has 46 members with 10 living out of state.
“It’s hard to get things going when the average age probably is 75 and I’m a little past that,” said Warren. “We appreciate what you’re doing.”
Teams playing this year were: Stokman; CVE - Chuck Johnson / Brianna Dobbs; Tandoc; Sunbelt teams headed by Bryson Hoar, Eleanna Velasquez and Travis Tritthart; InsureCal / Brandi LoForti; California Landscape with Ryan & Nick Thornberry; Bronco Wine / Joseph Franzia; Avila & Scott and Team BMO; O’Reilly Auto Parts; United Rentals; Boyd & Mendonca; Berline, Cohen, LLP - Makayla Whitney; Kotval; TDR with Marc Sanders; Evans & Erwin; Les Schwab / David Gomez; Krigbaum; Juarez; River Oaks / Hall;
K&D / Thornberry; Coca-Cola; J.T. Pappas; Persuasion Brewery; Sign Depot; and Trophyworks.
The event drew 14 hole sponsors, including O’Reilly’s Auto Parts, Pulido Real Estate, Joanna Esparza of Exit Realty, Brandi LoForti of InsureCal, Marc Sanders of TDR, Inc., Del Ambris of Cost Less Foods, Joseph Franzia of Bronco Wine Company (all donated the wine for players), Ramsey of Spitfire Graphics, the Stanislaus Latino Chamber of Commerce, Delicato Wine for donating wine, J.T. Pappas, Coca-Cola and Dave Dixon.
