During President’s Day weekend, Humble ISD golf programs hold a tournament at the Kingwood Country Club. Each year it acts as a fundraiser for four high schools (Atascocita, Kingwood, Kingwood Park and Summer Creek) in the district with golf programs.
Each high school sends all of their golfers to the event to help volunteer before the tournament starts. Volunteers help bring the players’ bags to their golf carts, fill each golf cart with sandwiches and help golfers check in.
The event started 14 years ago when Kingwood Park’s head golf coach Angela Chancellor worked at Atascocita High School. Originally, the tournament was only for the Atascocita program, but it grew into a district-wide event. Parents from Atascocita encouraged the event be expanded, especially after the state took away money that helped programs grow JV and freshman teams.
“There was a need,” Chancellor said. “The state had crunched down on their money and the district was facing the possibility of cutting JV teams, sophomore teams and freshmen teams.”
When the state chose to cut money from golf programs, Chancellor and other coaches in the district created the Classic. The annual tournament is the biggest fundraiser for the golf programs in the district and the event has grown rapidly in the 14 years it has been running.
The players who participate in the tournament contribute to the money that goes to the golf programs. Between the sponsorships, raffle tickets and auction baskets, the golf programs across the district have enough fundraising to provide more spots for JV and freshmen golfers.
In the 14 years the tournament has been running, the tournament has grown to more than 300 returning players each year. Communities and businesses across the region have helped support the fundraiser and are continuing to help grow the event.
“The community is a huge help,” tournament chairman Richard Flores said. “We get a lot of support from businesses all over Lake Houston. Many businesses play in the tournament or help by sponsoring.“
For the golf programs, having the business sponsorships help grow the media presence of the tournament. The sponsorships also help with the fundraising for the scholarships that are awarded to the select few athletes.
Each year the tournament funds three scholarships for Humble ISD high school golf athletes. Each scholarship is named for a former Humble ISD golfer who has passed away. The parents of the person who each scholarship is named for reviews the student submitted essays and choose which athletes to award the scholarships.
“I play in the tournament because it helps raise money for those scholarships and it raises money for their families and for our district so we can have a better golf experience,” said senior JD McComb.
Before the day of the tournament, all high school golfers sell raffle tickets to contribute to the gift cards that are awarded at the end of the tournament. Along with the raffle tickets, each school also contributes to the auction baskets.
Between trying to get sponsorships and volunteers, the tournament’s preparation starts in September.
“It’s basically a year-long process to get it ready,” Chancellor said. “To organize that many volunteers and that many processes that go into it and all the games and the auction and the food and just the sponsorships and just getting the word out in the community.”
Since the tournament has started the event has grown into one of the biggest tournaments in the region. With the help of the sponsorships, community and the businesses who play in the tournament, the event has grown and became more successful.
“We’re very fortunate to have parents and people in the community that are willing to come out and support us like that, because it’s not like that everywhere else,” Chancellor said.
