A boy gets ready to make a putt Tuesday night, Feb. 6, during the opening night of the Putt A Round fundraiser for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Mississippi Valley. The event, which continues through Friday, is at the RiverCenter in Davenport. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
Jay Justin looked over the opening night of the 19th Annual Big Brothers Big Sisters Putt A Round fundraiser and saw a big room full of big energy. “It’s amazing here. It has energy. It’s fun. …. We’ve been doing this for 19 years and people keep supporting it,” said Mr. Justin, president and CEO […]
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Jay Justin looked over the opening night of the 19th Annual Big Brothers Big Sisters Putt A Round fundraiser and saw a big room full of big energy.“It’s amazing here. It has energy. It’s fun. …. We’ve been doing this for 19 years and people keep supporting it,” said Mr. Justin, president and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Mississippi Valley.
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Monique Miles, left, and Nola Neely are shown during the opening night of the Putt A Round fundraiser for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Mississippi Valley. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
A man gives some hints on making a putt to a boy during the opening night of the Putt A Round fundraiser for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Mississippi Valley. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
Pizza is served during the opening night of the Putt A Round fundraiser for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Mississippi Valley. The event, which continues through Friday, is at the RiverCenter in Davenport. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
People line up to putt at a hole during the opening night of the Putt A Round fundraiser for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Mississippi Valley. The event, which continues through Friday, is at the RiverCenter in Davenport. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
One of the eye-catching features was Hole 5 presented by HD Supply. It presented the golfers with the challenge of getting the ball through a urinal and toilet before reaching the hole.
That organization – which pairs adult volunteers with children in need of mentorship and life-changing experiences – kicked off its biggest fundraising event of the year on Tuesday night, Feb. 6, with the Putt A Round in the Great Hall at the RiverCenter in downtown Davenport. Tuesday was Big/Little Night – also called Match Night – when the adult mentors guided their young guests through a night of miniature golf, food, games and prizes.As in past years, the four-day event features 27 custom designed and built miniature golf holes made by sponsors of the event. The Putt A Round continues Wednesday through Friday, Feb 7-9, at the RiverCenter. (See a schedule of events and more details of the fundraiser here.)More than 1,500 people are expected to attend the event over the four days.The BBBS organization is expected to raise more than $100,000 from the event to support its mentoring programs in the area. During Tuesday night’s event, much of that mentoring was centered on the fun of playing golf on a course of uniquely designed holes. One of those eye-catching features was Hole 5 presented by HD Supply. It presented the golfers with the challenge of getting the ball through a urinal and toilet before reaching the hole.One of the mentors mastering that hole on Tuesday was Evan Roberts of Moline. Mr. Roberts was at the event with the young man – or “Little” – that he is mentoring. He said the goal for the night was to have fun. But added that it’s important to take part in the BBBS program to make a positive difference in the lives of children in the community.“It’s just important for me to give back,” he added.Other “Bigs” and “Littles” at the Putt A Round agreed that it’s important to support the mentoring program. But the Tuesday event was all about having fun.“This is just something really fun to do. … It gets us out of the house,” said Chelsea Noe of Bettendorf, who was at the event with her “Little” – Dalyah Martin, 10.One of the veteran “Bigs” at the Tuesday event was Nola Neely of Rock Island. She has been a mentor to Monique Miles, 14, for about seven years. The two were also enjoying a night of fun and golf at the RiverCenter. “This is just fun. We like spending time together,” Ms. Nelly added.Part of the fun on the night also centered on food and prizes. The first 20 “Littles” to get a hole-in-one received a medal. Free pizza was also a big hit. The longest line of the night was in front of the food section of the Great Hall when volunteers started serving up slices of pizza at about 6 p.m.Not too far from the pizza line, Maggie Olson was volunteering at Hole 20. It was put together by Bush Construction. The hole had its own line forming, probably because in addition to the golf fun, Bush was serving up big sugar cookies that were decorated with the Bush logo.“We’ve got the formula down for being popular,” Ms. Olson said. “We just love being part of the community. We’ve been doing this for quite a few years.”In addition to the golf, pizza and cookies, the night’s fun was also sparked by a dozen or so animal mascots. Volunteers dressed up as various animals – tigers, ducks, dogs, a lightning bug and others – to entertain the youngsters.One of those volunteers was Megan Mason of Rock Island, who was dressed up as an eagle at the Arconic table. “This is just something fun to do," she added.The presenting sponsors of the 19th annual Big Brothers Big Sisters Putt A Round fundraiser are Quad City Area Realtors and The Khalig Group of Wells Fargo Advisors.
