Synergy 8 Community Builders have announced the special guests that will appear at their annual fundraising golf tournament.

The group released a statement on Tuesday announcing that Canadian PGA Tour players Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes will highlight the day in August. Synergy spokesman Troy Davies said the group is ecstatic to bring two current PGA players to Saskatoon to headline the “Drive for Kids Campaign 2022.”

“We’re very excited to have the line up we have this year,” Davies told Golf Saskatchewan. “For the first time in our history we’re bringing in current PGA Tour players and they also happen to be Canadian Olympians, and two really good guys who are willing to play each other at our event. It’s a completely different opportunity for us.”

In years past Synergy 8 featured John Daly, Feed Couples, Nick Price, Tom Watson, Colin Montgomerie, and many others. Davies said the group has high praise for the Champions Tour veterans that have helped them raise funds over several years, but he said the plan to bring current PGA players in has been a work in progress for a couple years.

Please join Synergy 8 Community Builders in welcoming PGA golfers MacKenzie Hughes, Corey Connors and Fox Sports Cohost Taylor Cusack to Saskatoon Tuesday August 30, 2022🎉 at the Willows Golf and Country Club pic.twitter.com/tk5XEskc7Y

— Synergy 8 Community Builders (@8_synergy) March 15, 2022

“They really like the cause we have this year, so they thought that was important. That’s how we got it done and to add that they were in the Tokyo Olympics together is an added bonus,” Davies said.

Joining Hughes and Conners at the Aug. 30 event will be Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Cody Fajardo, and Fox Sports personality Taylor Cusack.

The funds raised at the golf tournament at The Willows and coinciding dinner at Prairieland Park in Saskatoon will go towards battling mental health in youth as part of the Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC). Davies said the group’s mobile health bus has seen great success and Synergy 8’s members expect the same from this year’s campaign.

“We’re funding two mobile vans that will be running in Saskatoon, basically they will have outreach and mental health workers working within the core neighbourhood schools and also within the STC Wellness Centre. That directly aligns with our mandate to help kids. Unfortunately, mental health has veered it’s ugly head, especially through COVID. This is something we want to support,” he said.

Davies said the golf tournament will sell out very quickly and could be as of the time this article is published. Tables for the dinner can be purchased without playing in the golf tournament. For more details visit the group’s website.

A first of its kind mobile health bus that will serve seven First Nation communities within the Saskatoon Tribal Council is getting close to hitting the road.

Currently under construction by Crestline, the bus will have a paramedic, dentist and dental assistant as well as a mental health worker on board to perform work on site. A $2.4 million campaign led by Synergy 8 Community Builders out of Saskatoon will be completed this summer with funds raised through the groups annual golf tournament. Troy Davies, one of the Synergy directors said seeing the project nearing completion is rewarding.

“We’re extremely excited to be a part of this,” Davies told Golf Saskatchewan. “Without the partnership of the province and the Government of Saskatchewan to cover the operating costs [$2.5 million/five years] we wouldn’t have been able to do this, nor would we have ever taken this on. When we found out they were willing to partner with us and we had major sponsors step on with Dakota Dunes Community Development Corporation (CDC) and Nutrien we knew we had the key players in place to move forward on this.”

Synergy is $900,000 short of their fundraising goal but Davies said that cost will be covered with the return of their Drive For Kids campaign golf tournament. The event was cancelled last year due to COVID, but the group announced this week that Aug. 31 at The Willows the event will return.

“Our primary goal would be to have our double shotgun on each tee box. The good news for us is that we have some time on our hands. With vaccines rolling out as quickly as they are and with our event not until Aug. 31 we’re hoping and anticipating that we will be able to run our normal golf event,” Davies said.

The star-laden banquet at Prairieland Park that accompanies the tournament is not going ahead this year. The group hopes to return to that format next year. Synergy has always highlighted their event with appearances of some of golf’s and sports biggest names. Davies doesn’t expect border restrictions to be lifted in the near future, so the group is focusing on special appearances by Canadian celebrities. Edmonton Oilers defenceman Ethan Bear and Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Cody Fajardo will be part of the day in August with more to be secured.

“We’ve got some additional celebrities we are going to announce a little bit down the road, we’re just finalizing. We’re still going to be able to go and that’s huge for us, we really want to celebrate this campaign that’s been two years in the works, and it is something we are excited about,” he added.

Once the bus is complete and on the road in early September it will serve the needs of 1,400 children plus other citizens in the communities. Davies said focus on First Nation incentives was important for the group. They also announced this week after it was passed by Saskatoon City Council was their involvement in erecting a statue of the late Fred Sasakamoose at Sasktel Centre. Sasakamoose was the first First Nation player in the NHL. He recently passed away due to complications from COVID. Davies said the announcement of the statue and the finalization of the bus will hopefully make lives better in many areas.

“It was such a solid campaign and it really focused on First Nation kids,” he continued. “Not only their mental health and health but insuring they have the confidence and self esteem to be successful in whatever they want to achieve and part of that is Fred Sasakamoose. He battled racism, residential schools, the loss of several siblings and was able to make that mark. Fred has been known in the First Nation community as a hero.”

The Dakota Dunes CDC and the Battleford Agency Tribal Chiefs assisted in the fundraising for the statue that will be unveiled along with the bus later this summer at the Sasktel Centre.

A project two years in the making is going ahead in the province of Saskatchewan thanks to several stakeholders and the Synergy 8 Community Builders group.

Announced last Thursday, the group, along with the Saskatoon Tribal Council and their chiefs will construct a $3.3 mobile bus to serve the seven communities within the council. Synergy chair Troy Davies said this monumental venture wouldn’t be possible without many organizations’ involvement.

“We had multiple meetings with the federal government, Health Minister Jim Reiter’s office, and with Saskatchewan Health Authority CEO Scott Livingstone on possibilities of covering the operating costs. We wouldn’t move forward without that operating commitment. Luckily we reached that point where both levels of government felt this was huge win and something that could be the foundation of something much larger and maybe more busses serving other Saskatchewan First Nation communities,” Davies explained.

The cost to operate the bus for five years will be $2.5 million. The bus will house a paramedic, mental health worker, and a dentist and dental assistant with a full area to work. Davies said a similar program has been in operation in Saskatoon and the group followed that initiative and used its success for this venture. The announcement featured many dignitaries and National Hockey League defenseman Ethan Bear. Davies continued to stress the partnership in getting the bus rolling.

“Our group is Synergy and without the synergy of government, to have both levels of government and multiple corporate companies and an NHL all-star thrown in there as well it just shows the synergy of everyone looking to do something for the right reasons. Without the support of these people we’d have never touched this, it is just too large” he said.

The bus will be constructed at Crestline next month. Funding for this initiative will be raised through the Synergy 8 annual golf fundraiser. This year’s event was cancelled due tot COVID-19 but plans are in place for the biggest event in Synergy’s history.

“We have some great names lined up to come in that we’re looking to announce in February. We just must make sure their schedules are clear. Once February comes we will announce that campaign, we’re booked to go for Aug. 31, 2021,” Davies beamed.

The bus is also expected to be running in August of next year.

Highlighted by the stories of the “Goose”, the 2018 Synergy 8 golf tournament and gala was a rousing success.

On Aug. 28, 260 people took part in the golf tournament at the Willows in Saskatoon. Later in the day almost 1,000 attended the banquet at Prairieland Park. Long-time golf commentator Gary McCord, two-time US Open champion Retief Goosen, and Golf Channel personality Holly Sonders took the stage highlighting the program. During the evening, Premier Scott Moe presented the Synergy 8 group with the Saskatchewan Premier’s Service Club Award for their charity work over the last decade. Synergy 8 member Rob Lozinski said the 10^th annual event was a memorable one.

“From our award from the province given by Premier Moe, to the silent and live auctions, to the meal, to NHLers Eric Gryba and Cam Talbot auctioning off some Edmonton Oiler hockey tickets and arena tours. The Humboldt Broncos and Saskatoon Blades event announcement on Sept. 22, to the question and answer session with Holly Sonders, Gary McCord, and Retief “The Goose” Goosen, it was quite an evening,” he said.

The Blades are going to honour the families effected by the bus crash in April involving the Broncos. Canadian LPGA golfer Alena Sharp used a specially designed Broncos golf bag at the CP Women’s Open in Regina last month. The bag was auctioned off for $19,000 with the proceeds benefitting the Humboldt & District Hospital Foundation. The emotional portion of the event was short lived, Lozinski said the three celebrity guests kept the crowd laughing all night.

“Retief regaled us with his story of being struck by lightning and talking about his two US Open wins. McCord was delightfully hilarious and spontaneous with stories of the best putters and strikers of the ball he’d ever encountered. Holly added beauty to the two golf beasts up on stage,” he said.

The proceeds from the overall event are going to the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation. Lozinski said they are still gathering the total. Since the group’s inception they’ve raised $3.6 million.

 

The Willows Golf and Country Club will go into the new decade with Ron Erikson as their general manager.

Erikson began his career in Saskatoon at the Greenbryre Country Club under the tutelage of Peter and Sherrill Semko. Erikson credits his career success to what he learned from the Semko’s at the Greenbryre Club.

Erikson’s career has taken him to several of the top-end courses in Saskatchewan and Saskatoon. He was general manager at the Saskatoon Golf and Country Club when the club underwent their extensive clubhouse design and construction. From there Erikson took the position of executive director at the Riverside Country Club. He was also part of Riverside’s clubhouse and commissioning project. Erikson was hired by Arne Petersen to lead Elk Ridge Resort as the chief executive officer during the transformation from the operations of a seasonal golf and RV park to a full four-season resort. Erikson then went on to work for Whitecap Dakota and was hands on during the development of Dakota Dunes Golf Links.

Erikson left the golf industry for a time managing in the residential and commercial construction industry. He said his golf and construction management experience is a good fit for The Willows and the course’s future.

“This opportunity’s draw for me is based with the  connection and a working relationship with the ownership developer group and with being involved with the capable team at The Willows to operationally deliver a project together that will be very unique and desirable on both a land development and amenity basis. It is an exceptionally exciting time to be involved with The Willows at this point in it’s history,” Erikson told Golf Saskatchewan via email.

Changes are coming to the 27-hole course including a proposal to remove nine holes and construct a third residential development in south Saskatoon. Nothing has publicly been finalized for the development overseen by Dream Unlimited. Erikson said he’s excited to be involved at this point.

“The long-term vision is presently being determined by our ownership group,” Erikson explained. “My short-term vision is to continue operating out of our present golf course and clubhouse facilities and to continue our existing business model. The Willows has a fine history of delivering exceptional experiences in both golf operations and hospitality and the goals for 2020 are to keep tracking and improving with our deliveries for our customers and members.”

Golf Saskatchewan will return to The Willows in 2020 for the provincial women’s amateur championship in July. Synergy 8 will also use the course for their popular Drive for Kids tournament that attracts well over 200 golfers. Erikson said he’s looking forward to working with both groups during the events.

“The Willows has a proud history of hosting city, provincial and national golf events. The 2020 women’s amateur will be the next opportunity to showcase our facilities here and have our dedicated and capable team provide hospitality, a challenge to the players and to be able to create more great memories for the event that have served to put the provincial women’s amateur championship at the pinnacle for women’s golf competitions. The Willows is very fortunate to be the host venue again in 2020 for one of the Synergy 8 Community Builders’ fundraising initiatives. This is a dedicated group of leaders who truly care about their community and who provide relevant and meaningful actions partnering to enhance the quality of community experience and to elevate the benefits that our community provides,” Erikson said.

He takes over for Wayne Fairbairn who has relocated to Calgary.