JLOCC held it’s 3rd Annual Golf Classic on Friday, May 5, 2017 at the Tustin Ranch Golf Club. It was a gorgeous day filled with golf, food, silent auction prizes, and most importantly, giving back to the Orange County Community.

Golfers were given lunch, drinks, golf carts, range balls, player gift bags and admission to the 19th Hole Fiesta at the conclusion of the tournament. Activities included closest to the pin and longest drive contests, mulligan packages, a helicopter drop raffle, plus the party with cocktails, silent auction, and the dinner and awards presentation. Players had a chance to win a new Lexus in a hole-in-one competition sponsored by Newport Lexus and Tustin Lexus.

Of course, it wouldn’t be JLOCC, if we didn’t stop for a minute to look back on our history and how we arrived at this third year of our Golf Classic. We spoke with Mara Hampton and Heather Anderson, the first two Chairs of our JLOCC Golf Tournament in 2006 and 2007. We started this tradition again in 2015. Our conversation with these two dedicated JLOCC members is below.

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When the weather is 75 degrees and sunny almost year-round, what better way to spend the day soaking up some vitamin D and chatting with friends than playing a round of golf? That’s exactly what Mara Hampton and Heather Anderson thought in 2006. And so, began the planning of the first ever, JLOCC Golf Tournament.

Looking back a decade ago, it’s not the planning, it’s not the conversations, it’s the beauty of the day that sticks out in Mara’s memory. To paint the picture, imagine, driving up to the concourse at Monarch Beach, banners hanging on the side of the building lightly blowing in the wind, and a beautifully decorated check-in area with smiling JLOCC members in their polo shirts ready to greet you. So many hours of planning were beginning to materialize. Everything seemed to be going according to plan. Of course, all successful events have a hiccup story that gets the committee’s adrenaline rushing. That is exactly what happened when the CBS reporter who was scheduled to MC the auction called twenty minutes before the auction stating that he wouldn’t be able to attend. Heather and Mara were scrambling to find a substitute. Luckily, the ladies were able to convince Mara’s husband that he should step up to the mic. He was a hoot, absolutely hilarious, the crowd loved him, and the auction ran smoothly!

Fast forward to 2015, the rejuvenation of the Golf Tournament. After almost a decade, the Golf Tournament was given a second chance to shine. As Sandra Gee said, “the event needed momentum; when brought back [the Junior League] had a really good idea of how to run a golf tournament.” The event is important to broaden the JLOCC fundraising portfolio and to bring in all types of people, men and women alike. The event also draws in a wide range of sponsors, especially business sponsors.

As the 2016 Golf Tournament came to a close, the vendors buzzed with excitement over the success of the event. April Sigman-Marx, 2016 chair, remembers the elation she felt seeing the happiness on the Newport Lexus’ personnel faces. When you thumb through the photos and see how joyful everyone was, the JLOCC members enjoying volunteering, the smiles from ear to ear, it takes you back to the moment, and you don’t see the stress, the hours, or the hiccups. But for the committee members, the behind the scenes stories decorate the memories. Case in point, the helicopter “incident” of 2016.  While the golfers’ anticipation heightened as the helicopter ball drop approached, the committee members were in a state of distress as the helicopter that was supposed to do the drop was tardy. The stress surfaced as the committee was uncertain of when to bring out the crowds. Even though it was twenty minutes later than planned, the relief spread across the committee as the helicopter was seen coming up over the bend! Another story for the record, and the enthusiasm for the Golf Tournament ensued.

(Stephanie White, JLOCC Historian Committee)

Categories: Giving Back, JLOCC News