Threshold Golf Tournament 2008

On Tuesday, November 11, we held the first annual Threshold Mission Teams Golf Tournament at Firethorne Country Club in Charlotte (well, Marvin if you want to be exact). God gave us an absolutely gorgeous day for golfing, and 79 players and approximately 20 volunteers came out to enjoy the weather, connect with friends, and provide financial support for Threshold's outreach efforts in the US and Costa Rica.

The final numbers won't be available for a few more days, but it looks like the profit from the event will be between $13,000 and $15,000! Many thanks to everyone who played, sponsored a team, donated prizes, donated money through sponsorship, or volunteered at the tournament. And thank you, Lord, for meeting our needs in such a mighty way! We will use what you've provided to change lives and bring others to Your Kingdom.

So you can get a feel for how great the day was, here's a slideshow with some highlights. Click the arrow to play it. Or, you can link to the album here.

Key Players (no pun intended)

Jeff and Kristen Lewis, along with Van Pennington, did an absolutely awesome job with the planning, logistics, and execution for the tournament. If there were any glitches, I sure didn't see them. I know the planning consumed huge chunks of their time for more than a month now, and the results were top-notch--particularly in the details. Anybody who has ever run a golf tournament will probably tell you that putting together an effective one generally takes six to twelve months. Jeff and Kristen really pulled this all together in about five weeks. Absolutely phenomenal job, you guys!

Also, I would be utterly remiss if I didn't give a huge shout out and massive thank-you to the man who made this all possible. Well, yeah, God . . . that's a given. But I'm referring to Howard Nifong. Howard and his wife Barbara essentially gave Threshold the Firethorne Country Club and its resources for the entire day. Staff, grounds, carts, range balls, etc. Gratis. And as if that weren't enough, Howard also donated several full rounds of golf to the winners, along with golf accessories and Firethorne apparel to players as prizes.

Thank you, Howard. It was great working with you in Orosi back in August, and my respect and admiration for your caring and generosity has grown immensely since then. May the Lord bless you for your kind heart and giving spirit.

Many thanks also to Beckie and Brian Johnston, owners of the Chick-fil-A at Stonecrest. They provided delicious lunches for every player and volunteer at the tournament. I can attest to just how delicious those lunches were--especially the brownies.

Players

At 11 a.m. sharp, twenty teams in forty carts headed for the tees. As they came off the first and ninth greens, we captured the moment for posterity.

Before leaving for the day, each player received a team photo, compliments of Jeff and Kristen Lewis.

FYI, I would strongly recommend Jeff and Kristen's Epson PictureMate Personal Photo Printer, which they also took to Costa Rica for last December's VBS. It chugged through 80 4x6 photos, all of which looked store-quality. And it was super easy to use and relatively inexpensive (although I don't know about the cost of ink and photo paper). You can use either compact flash (CF) or secure digital (SD) cards--no computer required. I've never been a huge fan of home-printed photos, but this device could change my mind.

Sorry . . . Gadget Guy almost took over the post there for a minute, but I reined him back in. Let's continue.

Winners

As they say in grade school, "everyone who played was a winner." However, four teams actually walked away with prizes.

Low Gross

Low gross is based on the team's score before any adjustments for its golf handicap. For those unfamiliar with golf handicap, Wikipedia defines it this way:

A golf handicap is a numerical measure of an amateur golfer's playing ability. It can be used to calculate a net score from the number of strokes actually played, thus allowing players of different proficiency to play against each other on somewhat equal terms. Handicaps are administered by golf clubs or national golf associations. Exact rules relating to handicaps can vary from country to country.

Essentially, low gross is the team that shot the best score.

• First Place: Howard Nifong, Keith Bell, Dave Morris, and Harold Barnes
• Second Place: John Blackwell, Bobby Martin, Joe Swinford, and Mark Thomas

These two teams actually tied with a 58. The first-place team won based on a "card playoff."

Low Net

Low net is based on the team's score after adjusting for its golf handicap. Maybe think of this as the team that played to the best of its ability, even if they weren't the best golfers on the course.

• First Place:John Blackwell, Bobby Martin, Joe Swinford, and Mark Thomas
• Second Place:Bill Francischiello, Mark Francischiello, and Ed Sedlacek

Great job, guys! And I think we can all agree that the real winners will be the people we touch with our outreach efforts.

Sponsors

We were blessed with some fantastic sponsors for this event.

• Carmel Trading Company
• Cedarhill Farm
• Century Contractors
• Charlotte Cigars & Collectibles/Charlie's Cigars
• Chick-fil-a at Stonecrest
• ComRep, Inc.
• Cornerstone Ear Nose & Throat
• Evergreen Investments
• Firethorne Country Club
• Glasscock Family Dentistry
• Halas Arborists
• Mario's Pizza
• McClancy Seasonings
• Picone Insurance Agency
• Powertech
• Suntrust Mortgage
• Switchin' Kitchens
• Thompson-Smith Realty
• Tolar, Bly, & Associates, CPA, PLLC
• Weekley Lawn & Lanscape

We can't thank these sponsors enough. Please give them your business if possible, and pray that God will reward their generosity.

"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it." (Malachi 3:10 NIV)