Thursday, September 5th, was our 16th Annual Golf FORE! Recovery charity classic. It’s my favorite work day of the year – the energy, the people, and the beautiful day in the sun cannot be beat. This year was no exception – in fact, it was EXTRA special.
Not simply because we sold out within 48 hours of opening ticket sales, nor because we have the BEST volunteers who make the day possible, but because our Golf Tournament marked the official launch of our new brand. Marking a significant new chapter in the CDC story.
An event that welcomes 216 guests, serves 3 meals, books an entire 3 course golf club, employs 70+ volunteers, all with the goal of raising funds is not something that ‘just happens’, in fact it’s anything but easy. It takes months of dedicated preparation to pull it off – let alone adding in the dynamics around an organizational rebrand and launching that rebrand at the golf tournament.
I’m amazed at how each year we manage to improve upon this tournament – it’s something I am personally passionate about. I want the CDC to be known for their incredible tournament! Some additions I was particularly excited about was our new Golf Logo, having our Alumni play a more prominent role on the course, and having our golfers all receive a Save the Date for next year.
Despite months of careful planning, there are things you cannot plan for – this year it was the wasps! No fun! Thankfully we have good natured golfers, and able bodied volunteers who made a trip to get wasp traps. Phew! Crisis averted!
In the shuffle of an event, it can be easy to forget the WHY – for both staff, volunteers, and guests alike. This year, it was an emphasis of ours to share more of our story with our guests. Every hole had facts about the CDC, and we repurposed storyboards from our Legacy Gala (Oct 2023) that share the entirety of our story.
More than that – our WHY is our people. This year our Alumni speaker was John. We intentionally shared John’s story all through the day with our guests, thanks to the magic of video, we were able to also share it with those not in attendance. If you want to check it out, watch here: John’s Story.
Back in Q1 of 2024, we knew a rebrand was on the horizon, and it only made sense for us to debut it at golf. Our golfers are some of our most loyal supporters and business partners. It was an intentional choice to share it there first. Our golfers knew a surprise was waiting for them at the course, but I’d reckon few would have expected to pull into Heritage Pointe Golf Course and see our logo had changed, alongside re-envisioned brand messaging.
Through the day, it was impossible to miss or overlook. And at dinner, we released our brand video for the first time. If you want to see it click here: Beyond Hope Campaign Video. The response of everyone was incredible.
Whether it’s a golf tournament, a rebrand, or items much smaller on the daily to-do list, our WHY is the same. We do each of these activities because we believe no one is beyond hope. That is a core belief of ours at the Calgary Dream Centre.
I’m thrilled to share that we raised $193,000 in support of our mission on the day. It was truly a monumental year for our golf tournament that will enable continued impact on lives that are in desperate need of hope.
I hope to see you there next year!
