Every day we lose 22 veterans to suicide. This number doesn’t even include other civilians, contractors, and families affected or impacted by this difficult mental health condition. Many of us have seen the impact PTSD can have; but it can be even more devastating when left undiagnosed or hidden. In summer of 2020 BTS set out to put some walk to the talk regarding PTSD treatment and helped raise over $30,000 for Headstrong, a veteran-led non-profit doing groundbreaking work in PTSD treatment, research, and awareness. With that bar set we then asked the question, “Where do we go from here? How can we make an even bigger impact next year?”

A few months later, the answer came. And it came in the form of a miniature windmill.

“Everyone does a golf tournament of some kind,” said BTS CEO David Tohn. “But we wanted to widen the audience, loosen things up, and have some fun doing something different for a cause we truly believed in.” With this idea in mind, a new event was born: The Mini-Golf Tournament 4 Good. Born from the brainstorming of BTS and community partners at Cymertek and Tailored Access, a charity was organized to put on the Intelligence Community’s first-of-its-kind mini-golf tournament to coincide with 2021’s PTSD Awareness Day (June 27).

The charity’s name? IC4. The meaning? “Intelligence Community Civilians and Contractors for Charity.” The concept? Bringing govcon and IC partners together with our “blue badge brethren” to boost Headstrong’s efforts to bring their services into the government contracting and intel community.

Fast forward 11 months, add some sunshine, Mission BBQ, trophies, putters, and pilsners and the first ever Mini-Golf Tournament 4 Good is officially in the books! Here are a few standouts from the event:

• The event took over the Laurel Golf Center for the day- this included 18 holes of mini golf, batting cages, driving range, and cornhole, all under a clear blue sky.
• The signature sponsor, Novetta, experienced the close-to-home impact of PTSD as the brother of one of their leadership team lost his life just months earlier. Their sponsorship was in his name (SGT Phillip Mario Abate, aka The Dude”) and Drew Abate from Novetta was able to share some thoughts and thanks during the closing ceremony.
• Trophies were bestowed upon the best teams, worst team, and special challenge winners for longest drive and closest to the pin. A special “Party Crasher” award was also given to the team that brought the most players to the event.
• Attendees ranged from younger to “more seasoned” players, leadership, junior staff, veterans, VIPs, and everyone in between interested in supporting a great cause and helping Headstrong grow their footprint in the Maryland corridor govcon community.
• Grub included the full array of Mission BBQ’s chow options plus 2 frozen margarita machines and custom golf-themed drinks from local distillery, Lost Ark (The drinks were named the Happy Gilmore and Arnold Palmer).

And let’s run some numbers too:

• 130 total players, 33 volunteers, 36 sponsors
• 10 gallons of frozen adult beverages, 129 bottles of water, 88 gallons of sweat
• 520 bean bags thrown, 350 golf balls purchased
• 1 CEO’s picture on a porta-john
• And…

$39,575 raised for Headstrong!

This incredible day was made possible not only by the generosity of so many sponsors and donors to help us meet our financial goal, but also the commitment, energy, and collaboration of countless volunteers, supporters, and friends who made the day such a success. We could talk about it for hours but instead, here are some pics and a video to give you a taste of what having fun for a great cause looks like. Did you miss it? Save the date for next year’s event at the Laurel Golf Center: June 24, 2021!

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Click on a pic below for more:

 

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Tags: fundraiser, mini golf, PTSD