8th Annual Carolina Classic (NASF/AESF)

May 16th, 2007 – Located in the heart of the beautiful foothills of Western North Carolina, Cleghorn Plantation Golf Course & Country Club assisted in yet another successful Carolina Classic.

Many people are to be recognized for making this event a success; let’s attempt a “long putt” at recognizing everyone: Starting with the Charlotte-Metrolina and Palmetto AESF Branches , in association with the NASF, for hosting this event and contributing to the camaraderie that this event has to offer. A special thanks to the Branch Officers, who were also in attendance: Ken and Kyle Hankinson, Presidents of the Palmetto and Charlotte-Metrolina Branches, respectively, Paul Fisher, Vice President of the Charlotte-Metrolina Branch, Jim Kistler, Treasurer of the Palmetto Branch, and our Sergeant at Arms, not only for the Palmetto Branch, but wherever we may be, Kevin Helton. 

Now that I have sunk the ‘long putt’, let’s recognize the ‘longest driver’s’ of this event, (the people responsible for “gettin’ ‘er done”). Thanks goes to Richard McBrayer and Mary Hendrix, both of KCH Services in Forest City, NC for all of the hard work and effort they put forth in organizing the event. From scheduling to catering to marketing, registration, and more, this event could not have been a success without them. When all was said and done, Mary commented on behalf of KCH saying that they “feel like this year’s Carolina Classic was a great success. It was a great course, perfect weather,*wonderful meal and everyone had a great time.”

A “shout out” goes to Cleghorn Plantation Golf & C.C. for welcoming us back to this wonderful championship track. The course was in great condition, I am sure William Cleghorn (Plantation Founder, 1837) and George Cobb (Course Architect, 1970) would both be proud.

And of course, without you, the sponsors and the attendees (some of us do not deserve to be called golfers), this would not have been a success!! Over 20 sponsors contributed to this years event: Finishing TV, Abrite, Cross air,*Metal Chem,*Marton,*KCH*, Ashland, Hickory Saw and Tool, Techmatic,*Mimco Equipment*,Kimre, Somona, Stratford Metal, American Plating Power, ARC, Gilbert and Jones, and KPC Southern *Industries. So, who are the illustrious winners of this year’s Carolina Classic? This year proved to be as competitive, yet lop-sided, of a victory (or victories) as we have ever seen. With the “Chameleon” theme separating the men from the boys, we had two teams tie for the “best ball” score, a 62 (9 under for those who want to know). These two teams consisted of  Sal Coletti and Gordon Djani with Water Specialties, and  Barry Kimbrell and Bill Zimmerman with Bommer Industries, the team tied for 1st Place was comprised of Kevin Helton of Crossair and Jim Kistler with CAPSCO(2-man teams are impressive, to say the least, but who’s counting Mulligan’s and extra shots?). To settle the score, a “Putt-Off” was declared. Putting for each team was Gordon Djani for Team #2 and Kevin Helton for Team #9. Congratulations to Team #9 and to Kevin Helton, our Sergeant at Arms for this event, for sinking his 2nd putt to win the tie-breaker!!

Congratulations to Team #2, even though, “….if you ain’t 1st, your Last”, for their 2nd Place/Runner-Up performance (I like to think my comment was suitable, even for the closet NASCAR fan). We want to also congratulate the Phelps Dodge team for making its appearance and taking 3rd Place. Props will also go out to “yours truly” and his teammates for taking the backseat to this tournament and taking “Dead Last” with a score of 75.

Several other prizes were awarded to everyone in attendance, during the fantastic BBQ catered by Hickory Log. We had Longest Drive prizes (Kevin Helton), Closest to Pin prizes (Kevin Helton), Gift Cards to our winning teams, and a variety of gifts for everyone, all donated by our sponsors. With over 30 golfers, the 8th Annual Carolina Classic turned out to be a fantastic event. There were many faces and many names to get reacquaintedwith or to simply meet for the first time. We missed the participation on the links of one, lefty Kyle Hankinson, who was privileged enough to drive around in the “beer cart” with an injured collarbone (Big Weenie, I broke my collarbone for the 3rd time on Feb. 21st, & I played, hence “last place”). We would also like to thank Dr. John Skudlarick, NASF General Surgeon and guest of Mr. Ken Hankinson, for attending as well, although he did not play with “surgeon-like skills”(comments provided by Mr. Ken Hankinson). We always welcome past, present and future AESF and NASF officers and members. In fact, we welcome anyone who wants to participate. I hope this article has been as much fun as we had on this day!! And I hope that next year will be as much fun too. As a precursor to next year’s event, I want to start it off by saying, “FOOOOOORRRRRRE!!!!!”