The St. Augustine’s College (SAC) Alumni Association is hosting a golf tournament to raise funds for the completion of a multipurpose complex as they pay tribute to the late Leviticus ‘Unca Lou’ Adderley – a former principal of the institution. The tournament, which is dubbed the ‘Unca Lou’ Adderley Charity Golf Tournament, will be held on Saturday, June 11 starting at 8 a.m. at the Royal Blue Golf Course at Baha Mar.
The announcement was made at a press conference held yesterday by the alumni association at the Blue Tavern Clubhouse at the golf course. The tournament will take on a two-person scramble net score format with a minimum of seven drives per player.
As for the multipurpose sports complex, it will comprise a running track, softball fields and a multipurpose gymnasium. Chairman of the charity golf event Michael Rolle said this event is the first fundraising endeavor to get the complex started.
“We, the SAC alumni, dare to embark on the journey fulfilling Unca Lou’s vision,” Rolle said. “It begins with this event. We are excited and it is our goal to raise sufficient funds to complete the two softball fields. We are optimistic and are appealing for support of sponsors, donors and community assistance in making this first event successful.”
Baha Mar Senior Vice President Robert ‘Sandy’ Sands, who is a graduate of SAC, spoke highly of Adderley who he said had an impact on his life. He is looking for the event to be very successful.
“I just want to encourage the Bahamian public to participate in the golf tournament. It is for a worthy cause and SAC needs the funds to progress its academic ambition. Certainly, the Baha Mar and the Baha Mar Foundation is on board to ensure the success of the event,” Sands said.
Rolle said the complex will not just be for the SAC community, but will also be made available for use by the wider community.
“When we invest in this project, the idea is to do it and make it self-sustainable for maintenance purposes. It will become available for all and sundry who we feel will have a justifiable need to use the facilities. We are not making an appeal and isolate ourselves in any way, shape or form. Unca Lou’s impact is not only at SAC, but nationally,” Rolle said.
Rolle went on to say that SAC alumni and students are not parentally connected but are connected because of ‘Unca Lou’ and that is where they got their pride from – ‘Unca Lou’, who was the glue.
“He was Mr. Fundamental. Anything he coached, he was able to play. He taught you the fundamentals. If we did not know how to play basketball, he showed you how to dribble a basketball and protect it. In softball, he showed you how to bat and catch. He insisted on you doing the fundamentals and a lot of our athletes have that base and they rise to high levels nationally and internationally,” Rolle said.
Adderley was one of the founding members of the Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools (BAISS), which is one of the main high school sports associations in the country. He was a nation builder, spiritual leader and a teacher.
The cost for the golf event is $500 per team and organizers are hoping to have a maximum of 50 teams. Sponsors will be allowed a certain number of teams based on the level of sponsorship. The registration deadline is June 8.
There will be prizes up for grabs. One of those prizes is a brand-new BMW or Toyota Highlander for the first hole in one on hole number three. There are also prizes for the longest drives for males and females, two closest to the pin prizes and the most honest golfer prize.
Registration forms can be collected at the Royal Blue Golf Course; downloaded from the website www.thesacalumniassociation.org; or collected from the alumni office at the Toyota Auto Mall on Shirley Street. Interested persons can call telephone numbers (242) 820-5568 or (242) 397-1744 or pay via the Mobile Assist app.
