As one of SOURCES’ longest-serving gala sponsors, the Hazelmere Golf and Country Club has become more like a family than a supporter over the past 20 years.
“It’s always a great experience to be with our friends at SOURCES and the gala is an annual event that the whole team looks forward to,” explains Frank Fourchalk, general manager for the West Coast Golf Group which owns the Hazelmere venue. “We have a lot of long-term employees here and it’s nice when we have these events, year in and year out, because we can all look forward to working with everyone again.”
As the all-important gala venue sponsor, the Hazelmere Golf and Country Club plays a key role in the annual SOURCES gala – with Hazelmere staff getting involved in a new gala theme each year. “It’s our time to shine and it makes us feel good in hosting the event,” says Fourchalk. “It allows us to commit our support even more and it lets staff get really involved due to executing the event.”
Working side by side with SOURCES staff and contractors, Hazelmere staff function both behind the scenes and in front, helping to ensure that the gala is a success. “We have so much familiarity and short-hand between the two teams which really helps us to adapt to what happened with COVID-19 – we had to do what we never thought we would have to do and it seemed like every two minutes we were pivoting and making adjustments,” notes Fourchalk.
This year, due to the pandemic, the SOURCES gala was first postponed from spring until fall and then, eventually, hosted virtually with SOURCES volunteers delivering the dinner meal, prepared by Hazelmere’s chef, directly to gala attendees.
The year 2022 will be Hazelmere’s 60th anniversary and, having been part of the community for so long, Fourchalk says he has seen the benefits of helping others first hand. “The scope of services that SOURCES offers is incredible and why it’s important to support an agency that is local and doing great things for the community.”