AMERICUS – The Americus Fire and Emergency Services will host their 23rd annual Benefit Golf Tournament on Friday, April 13, at Griffin Bell Golf Links. There will be a morning flight and an afternoon flight with cash prizes and a raffle with many excellent items. Lunch will also be provided. All proceeds will be used for local community safety and fire prevention programs.

Check in, as well as a golf meeting at the clubhouse, will begin at 8 a.m. Tee-Off time will be at 8:30 a.m.

For those who can’t make it to the morning flight, there will be an afternoon flight. Registration and a meeting at the clubhouse will begin at 12:30 p.m. Tee-Off time will begin at 1 p.m. The Griffin Bell Golf Course is located at 1800 South Lee Street in Americus.

The tournament format is a three-way scramble. The tournament is divided into two flights: morning and afternoon. Those who wish to participate must submit their names and handicaps by April 9, if at all possible.

The price is $210 per team and includes cart and meal. Your entry fee is tax deductible within the limits of the tax law.

Entries should be submitted no later than April 9, 2018. Checks can be made payable to: Americus Fire and Emergency Services, 119 South Lee Street, Americus, GA 31709. A meal will be served between 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Here are the prizes:  First Place is $300 in both flights. Second Place is $225 in both flights, and Third Place is $150 in both flights.

The golfer who hits the longest drive will receive $100 and the golfer who hits a shot closest to the pin will receive $100. Prize packages for hole-in-ones will be given on select holes.

Mulligans can be purchased for $5 each. The maximum number of mulligans that can be purchased is four per person: two for the front nine and two for the back nine. They can be bought at sign up.

Players are reminded to bring some extra cash to participate in raffles. Lots of prizes will be donated by sponsors. All proceeds will support the Americus Fire and Emergency Services Community Safety and Fire Prevention Programs right here in Americus.

For those who would like to be a sponsor, there are sponsorship opportunities. Those who make a sponsorship of $50 will get a tee box sign with company name at one of the tee boxes.

Those who sponsor $100 will get a tee box and green signs with their company name at a green and at a tee box. For those who want to be co-sponsors, it is $500. The co-sponsors get their name on the banner under Grand Sponsor, which will be displayed in town and at the golf tournament. For those who would like to be grand sponsors, the price is $1,000, and includes company name listed at the top of the banner, which will be displayed in town and at the golf tournament.

“We have a banner that we display here at the station and at the tournament itself,” said Harriet Williams, Administrative Assistant for the AFES. “We want to acknowledge our grand sponsors and our co-sponsors. They also get to enter a team and get tee box signs and green signs on the course. The grand sponsors are bolder and at the top of the signs and the co-sponsors are at the bottom of the signs.”

Williams went on to say that Americus Fire and Emergency Services raised a little over $11,000 from last year’s golf tournament. According to Williams, the proceeds from the tournament enable the AFES provide various important programs for the community. “We offer CPR and First Aid classes. We also have what we call our Fire Safety House, which we take to different schools, organizations and churches,” Williams said. “It’s mainly for children to show them how to behave in a fire and teach them safety rules. We also have a clown program. The clowns put on programs for school children, teaching them fire safety in a fun way. WE also do fire extinguisher classes for civic groups, businesses and residents of communities.”

Williams went on to say that the AFES does presentations at apartment complexes to teach kitchen safety, general fire safety and ways to prevent falls around the home, particularly for the elderly.

Williams said that during the holidays, the organization has a Christmas program, where they provide Christmas presents for needy children. “We do a lot with the children,” Williams said.

The golf tournament that Americus Fire and Safety Services puts on helps with many things the organization does dealing with fire safety.