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"Drive Safe" Golf Classic a success

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Contributed by: Orith Farago on 5/22/2007

With philanthropy in mind, golfers and volunteers took to the greens Saturday, May 19 to participate in the 34th Annual Frontier Toyota/Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital "Drive Safe" Golf Classic tournament, awards dinner and auction. The successful event raised approximately $280,000 to benefit Emergency and Trauma Services at Henry Mayo.

"This tournament has been a great success," said tournament chair Chris Luechtefeld of Morgan Stanley in Valencia. "I want to thank all of the players and volunteers for their commitment to benefiting our community hospital."

Joe Caso, the owner of Frontier Toyota, the tournament's title sponsor for 11 years, said it is important that Henry Mayo's emergency room and trauma center continue to grow in conjunction with the population surge in the Santa Clarita Valley.

"Henry Mayo's emergency department is extremely important to the community," Caso said. "The more funds we raise for the emergency department, the better the emergency department can provide the best possible care for our growing community."

The tournament began with a 9 a.m. tee time. Throughout the day, players participated in putting contests and hole-in-one opportunities in which they could win an automobile from the tournament's title sponsor, Frontier Toyota.

FOX 11 sports anchor Rick Garcia, who served as the event's celebrity host, expressed the importance of supporting trauma centers at community hospitals.

"I know that hospitals across the country have been struggling to keep their doors open, especially trauma centers," Garcia said. "One of these days, we may wake up and have no place to go and that is why I think it is important to support community hospitals like Henry Mayo."

Included among 20 physicians who participated in the golf tournament was Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital's chief of staff, Chand Khanna, MD.

Khanna, whose team earned the title 'first place net winners,' said it was great that so many physicians participated in the golf tournament in support of Henry Mayo's emergency room and trauma center.

"As a stand-alone community hospital, we need to continually raise funds to provide the best possible care for the community," Khanna said. "Medical staff participation makes a big difference."

Following the tournament, golfers and guests retreated to a tent on the greens where attendees dined, purchased raffle tickets and bid on numerous silent auction items ranging from jewelry and baseball collectibles to mountain bikes and high-performance tires.

Henry Mayo's President and CEO Roger Seaver expressed how all the volunteers, sponsors and participants who help make the tournament a success each year have helped make a difference for Henry Mayo's emergency room and trauma center.

Henry Mayo recently opened its new emergency room with 18 new beds, a more private and comfortable environment for patients and 9,000 square feet of new space, Seaver said.

"A great amount of this has been accomplished through support from this event and through the philanthropy of this community," Seaver said.

Among the tournament participants was actor Barry Williams, who portrayed Greg Brady in the '70s hit television series The Brady Bunch. Williams said he was glad to participate in an event to benefit Henry Mayo's emergency department.

"A large number of emergency departments are closing throughout Southern California," said Williams, who enjoys boating at Castaic and Pyramid lakes. "I am happy to be here supporting Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital."

At 5 p.m., Helinet Aviation Services charter operations manager and pilot Tom Terry lifted off in a helicopter with Helinet's vice president of technical operations, J.T. Alpaugh and 2,000 golf balls that Alpaugh would drop toward a target pin on the greens. As the helicopter hovered 200 feet above a target, excitement filled the air among spectators.

Alpaugh dropped the balls and a wave of enthusiasm reverberated among the event's attendees. The owners of the tickets matching the numbers featured on the two closest balls to the target pin won $5,000 and $1,000, respectively.

Dan Jacobs, who had participated in the golf tournament for 20 years and returned to the tournament this year after a hiatus, won the $5,000 prize.

"I'm excited and shocked," Jacobs smiled as he received numerous congratulatory pats on the back from the event's guests.

Alberto Dominguez, who works at the Valencia Country Club, won the $1,000 prize with a numbered golf ball a quarter of an inch away from the target pin.

The golf ball drop was followed by an energetic live auction. Valencia Acura owner Don Fleming served as the auctioneer for items ranging from VIP tickets to the Dr. Phil Show to a one-week vacation at Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Fleming said it was a pleasure to see so many people from the community participating in the tournament to support Henry Mayo.

"Without question, this has been the best charity golf event in the valley," Fleming said. "It never ceases to amaze me the number of people who support it year in and year out. We're all very lucky to live in this valley."

Cheers erupted among the event's attendees as the winning golf teams were announced at the end of the evening.

The first place gross winners - sponsored by Hank & Louise Arklin - included: Lonnie Stokes; Marty Stowell; Jerry Cain; Miguel Rodriguez; and Bob Stowell.

The first place net winners - representing Henry Mayo's Medical Staff and Interstate Rehabilitation Services - included: Henry Mayo Chief of Staff, Chand Khanna, MD; Devinder Tandon, MD; Physician Relations Specialist David Sell; Interstate Rehabilitation Services Glenn Dabatos and Jim Pietsch.

Five physicians representing Valencia Anesthesia Medical Group were bestowed with the Perpetual Trophy (given to the team of physicians with the best overall tournament score). The team included: Peter Nicolazzo, MD; Robert Schroeder, MD; Mark Liker, MD; Anthony Panasci, MD; and Doug Gadowski, MD.

The event's sponsors included:

v Dinner Sponsor: Toyota Financial Services
v Platinum Program Sponsor: The Magazine of Santa Clarita
v Major Sponsors: Stephen Wen & Asociates; Hank and Louise Arklin;
and Johnson Controls, Inc.
v Awards Sponsor: Specialty Labs
v Welcome Sponsor: Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital Staff
v One & Only Contest Sponsor: Andy Gump, Inc.

To participate in next year's golf tournament, please contact the Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Health Foundation at (661) 253-8082.

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