The Division of Student Affairs and Academic Support is celebrating the success of the inaugural FORE Carolina Golf Tournament, held at the Wildewood Club on Oct. 23, benefitting the Carolina Cares Fund.
The tournament was the brainchild of Vice President of Student Affairs and Academic Support J. Rex Tolliver, who worked with the division’s communications and marketing team to jumpstart the tournament. Additional support for the event came from sponsors Parking Guidance Systems, Terminix, NAI Columbia, the Golden Spur and South Carolina State Credit Union.
“It’s been great to have this tournament materialized to support our students and celebrate this amazing cause for Student Affairs,” Tolliver says. “We truly could not do this without the outstanding support of our partners on and off-campus as well as our staff that set this up and have volunteered their time at this great course.”
Sixty-four players competed in the tournament, comprising sixteen teams. In the end, three teams tied at the top of the leaderboard, shooting a 14-under-par 58. The team of Jacob Kibler, Ty Strawhorn, Clayton Harden and JT Irvin came away with the top spot based on their early round scores.
Associate Vice President Ben Galloway’s team claimed second place, and Director of Residence Life Dan Colascione and his team completed the podium in third. Galloway and Angie Webb won for the longest drive on hole #15, and Stan Borkowski clinched the closest to the pin prize offered on hole #3.
However, the Carolina Cares Fund was a winner in its own right, with the proceeds from the tournament providing support to ensure students do not see an interruption in their education when faced with unexpected financial hardships.
“I work directly with the students who are experiencing these financial emergencies, so this is our opportunity to help them and to have more funds to support students in the future. As much as it’s hard to have those situations, it’s great to have the resources for when something unexpected does come up,” Austin LaForest, Director of Student Care and Case Management, says. “I’m just elated to see a packed crowd of people ready to golf, and I’m excited to get back to work helping our students in need.”
Funded solely by donors and managed by the Office of the Dean of Students, the Carolina Cares Fund is available to any currently enrolled USC students for verifiable expenses that are defined as unexpected, unforeseen, unavoidable and urgent in nature — such as medical emergencies, personal safety needs, food insecurity and more.
Tolliver and LaForest competed together in the tournament alongside Associate Vice President Stacy Fritz and Carl Leist, shooting a 12-under-par 60 and finishing in the top five of all competing teams.
“It’s Homecoming week, and the weather cooperated, but more importantly this was an opportunity for us to come out, enjoy ourselves and support great causes for the division,” Tolliver says.
In addition to support for Carolina Cares, packaged food from the event went towards the Gamecock CommUnity Shop to battle food insecurity on the USC campus.
In the future, the FORE Carolina tournament expects to move to the spring with a continued effort on supporting student success and educational advancement.