Event Profile: An Ace of a Day! Our 16th Annual Golf FORE! Recovery Tournament!

Golf FORE! Recovery Classic Annual Golf Tournament

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.

Founding Member & Retired CEO, Jim Moore, was very excited about the rebrand! We love when Jim comes around!
Swag bags for every golfer showcasing our new logo!
Swag bags for every golfer showcasing our new logo!

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.

Some of our AMAZING volunteers handing out our First Tee gift that was generously sponsored by an Anonymous Donor!

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!

Every Par-Tee needs balloons!
More cart details showcasing our new Golf logo!

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.

We couldn’t have done it without the support of these amazing businesses. THANK YOU to our sponsors!

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!

We can’t do it without you.

Together we can remind the people of Calgary that no one is beyond hope.

Werner Haag

Bio coming soon.

Steven Balisky

Bio coming soon.

Ben Johnson

Ben is the Lead Pastor at FA. Ben and His wife Heather have served together in Pastoral and Apostolic ministry for over 20 years.

They share a deep spiritual burden for our nation of Canada – specifically for the unchurched and the next generation. They long to see a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our time, and they believe that some of the most exciting days for the Canadian church are ahead.

Together with their four daughters, they count it an incredible honour to be able to serve Jesus and serve the City of Calgary.

Craig Hill

Craig Hill has been involved with the Calgary Dream Centre (CDC) since its inception. Starting with trips to the LA Dream Centre where seeds were planted in him that were never forgotten. After years of working in business, real estate, and church ministry, Craig returned to the CDC to step in as the CEO. Craig has a deep appreciation for the life change that happens here, the incredible team, and seeing the redemptive work that God is doing. Outside of work, Craig is a family man who loves nothing more than being with his wife and kids at the lake.

David Taylor

David grew up in northern Canada and attended the University of Alberta where he graduated with a degree in electrical engineering. He worked as an engineer for about seven years before moving into project management and then business management, primarily focused in the oil and gas production and refining industry.

David stepped into the COO role of a business that was in trouble due to the 2008 financial crisis. After turning that business around, he took an international role leading project managers who managed a portfolio of $1.5B of projects around the globe.

Since then, David has consulted for businesses and organizations in medicine, engineering, homelessness, and addiction recovery, and serves on various not-for-profit boards.

David is currently running another business in California that was also in need of a dramatic turnaround and now scaling this business for further profitable growth.

Cal Johnson

Cal has been a member of the Calgary Dream Centre Board of Directors since March 2022.  Cal and his wife Kerry have been supporters of the Dream Centre for a number of years.

Cal is a Business Advisor with a focus on Coaching and Leadership Development.  He has spent his career in the Agriculture Equipment Industry and was a John Deere Equipment Dealer for 19 years.  He is a Professional Engineer and holds an ICD.D designation with the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Cal and Kerry have been married 34 years and have 3 adult sons.  They volunteer in marriage ministry at Centre Street Church and enjoy spending time cycling, boating, skiing, and travelling. 

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Bob Nash

Retired General Manager It Operations and Signals and Communications for Canadian Pacific  Railway after 34 years of service. Currently the Board Chairman and Project Manager for the Calgary Dream Centre, a position held for the past 18 years.