By SARIT LASCHINSKY

Special to The Press

More than 100 golfers participated in the Parkland School District Education Foundation’s first-ever “Tee’m Work Makes the Dream Work” Golf Outing Oct. 23 at Brookside Country Club, Macungie.

They had some time outdoors, played some rounds of golf and helped support the foundation.

The event featured an 18-hole, four-person scramble competition, breakfast and lunch, various contests and prizes such as Longest Drive, Closest to the Pin, and Pot of Gold, and prizes and a basket raffle of gift baskets, golf shoes, artwork and photographs.

One hundred and three golfers took part in the day’s events, which raised approximately $20,000 in profit for the foundation.

Superintendent Richard Sniscak welcomed the outing’s participants before the morning tee-offs, and thanked attendees for supporting the foundation through the competition.

“The Education Foundation supports many creative and innovative initiatives for teachers in the classroom, and ultimately supports students,” Sniscak said.

“Your participation, and all our sponsors’ participation, allows the foundation to support children in our district.”

Sniscak also thanked Foundation Executive Director Lisa Ervin and foundation board members Ed and Anne Davis for putting the tournament together on short notice.

“To be able to do these types of events in the environment we’re in is a testament to their effort, and much thanks is owed to everyone here for participating.”

The Davises are members of Brookside and Parkland retirees.

Anne Davis worked as a guidance counselor, Ed retired as assistant to the superintendent in charge of curriculum and instruction. Both were co-sponsors and hosts of the golf outing.

“We worked for the school district for many years - Ed for 37 years, me 35­ - and we’ve always been advocates for good education and children’s education,” Anne Davis told The Press, “so it was great to co-sponsor this event for the foundation and the students.”

Once the competition had concluded, Ervin thanked all the golfers for attending and supporting the foundation as well.

“I look around this room and I realize how lucky we are to live in the Parkland community, a community that values education the way I do,” she said. “The mission of the Parkland Education Foundation is to keep the excellence that Parkland is known for … the quality of being outstanding.”

Ervin said Parkland, along with many other school districts, faced challenges like government funding changes, shifting demographics, rising costs and demands for services, and a rise in the amount of free-and-reduced price lunch eligibility among students.

“To be excellent you look at your challenges, and you not only face them, you excel in light of them,” Ervin said adding that as a district, “to excel beyond a traditional education, we need to provide opportunities that allow kids to learn above and beyond the standard. How do we do that?”

She commended teachers and staff for devising strategies to take curriculum “to the next level” and said the Education Foundation asks teachers to submit grants every year, the best and most impactful of which are selected to be funded, and said last year the Parkland Education Foundation funded 47 grants, totaling over $134,000.

“And the challenges that our world and education have faced this past year are like none we’ve ever seen before; excellence doesn’t occur in only the easiest of circumstances. It is in the toughest of times that we need to figure out ways to overcome challenges and continue to persevere.”

She highlighted how the district has adapted to meet community and students needs in the current environment.

Some of these actions include providing teachers with headsets and microphones to communicate with students, adding food to the district’s food pantry for delivery to struggling families, distributing cloth masks and thermometers to families in need, and purchasing cutting-edge camera equipment for the high school TV studio to do athletic livestreaming.

“We believe that the ability to continue to thrive during these challenging times is excellence, but we couldn’t do what we do without the help of each and every one of you. Investing in education is an investment in a belief that the future will be brighter.”

The first-place team win went to the Posocco brothers - Frank, Jim, Bob and David - with a score of 56, while second place went to Rich Fatzinger, Brian Exton, Corey Kern and Evan Fahs with a score of 61.

The third-place team was comprised of Susan Goodreau, Jim Goodreau, Anne Wenninger and Linda Knabb with a score of 62.

Other winners included:

• Longest Drive No. 4: Nate Ondrejca (men) and Linda Knabb (women).

• Closest to the Pin No. 17: Ryan Wojcik (men) and Linda Knabb (women).

• Straightest Drive No. 11: Art Oakes.

• Second Chance No. 6: Gary Iacocca.

• Pot of Gold: Jason Moyer.