In the first in-person event in more than a year, the Greater 91原创 Chamber of Commerce brought 140 people together for some play time.

It was a near sell-out crowd who took part in last Wednesday鈥檚 35th annual chamber golf tournament at Redwoods Golf Course, exclaimed a thrilled CEO, Colleen Clark.

鈥淐onsidering COVID, it was really great so many people came out,鈥� she said, noting it was just four short of a sell-out for both the 18 holes of golf and the outdoor buffet dinner served under the large tent and emceed by Steve Darling.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an event that we do for A) networking purposes 鈥� to give our members an opportunity to come together 鈥� and B) it鈥檚 a fundraiser event for us,鈥� Clark said.

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While numbers were still not finalized, this year鈥檚 fundraiser was expected to be on par with past years, generating between $20,000 and $25,000 towards chamber operations.

That鈥檚 possible, Clark said, in large part thanks to the golfers. But, moreover, the corporate sponsors that get behind the chamber and help facilitate events such as this and the upcoming virtual business excellence awards event happening in October. She pointed to MNP as a gold level sponsor for the tourney, and Envision Financial as a silver, plus about 30 others who helped make the event a reality.

鈥淥verall, from what I understand, it was a great day for all those one the course,鈥� she said, noting a three-way tie prompted a one-hole shootout for top spot among the golfers. Focus West Logistics walked away as the winner.

鈥淎 lot of people expressed their thankfulness for being able to actually get out and see people for a while, and be back in a networking situation again. It was really nice to see a lot of smiling faces,鈥� Clark added.

Asked about plans for the 2022 tournament, she said the location is still up in the air since Redwoods will be closed down for construction of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 undecided yet,鈥� said Clark. 鈥淲e just got off the course. But stay tuned鈥︹��

She is hoping to see the event moved back to a June date, as has been the case in past years.

In the meantime, the chamber is gearing up for its online federal all-candidates meetings, a series of virtual webinars, and the organization鈥檚 next in-person event, which is the chamber鈥檚 90th anniversary and annual general meeting on Sept. 21 at Cascades Casino.

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And, as much as Clark didn鈥檛 鈥渞eally want it鈥� to be virtual, the chamber鈥檚 biggest event of the year 鈥� it鈥檚 25th annual business excellence awards 鈥� is on tap for Thursday, Oct. 21.

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