Grab your golf clubs and create opportunities

Dulles Rotary Opportunities Open, Sept. 26, serves up great golf and double-impact giving to the community

 Call it the trifecta for 144 lucky golfers: The Dulles International Airport Rotary’s Opportunities Open at Hidden Creek Country Club in Reston, September 26.

1. A great 18 holes of golf, Captain’s Choice Scramble format, in a superb setting, including sit-down lunch (not a paper bag on the cart), golf cart, beverages, golf shirt or jacket or bag, catered dinner, silent auction and raffle, complimentary beer and wine.

2. All money raised supports four Loudoun and Fairfax organizations that support people with disabilities.

3. Best of all – every dollar spent is doubled. Sign on for a foursome for $825 and $1,650 goes into the coffers to be distributed to LARC (The Arc of Loudoun), ARC of Northern Virginia, ECHO (Every Citizen Has Opportunities) and ServiceSource. Each of these organizations advocates for, supports and provides employment opportunities for fellow citizens with intellectual, physical and developmental disabilities.

Rotary volunteers supply all the planning and manning for the day. Every penny, after the expenses of renting the course and putting on the dinner and lunch, goes to the four organizations.

Scott Ward, chairman of this year’s event, was in his first year of Rotary membership when  the first Opportunities Open was held 15 years ago. He’s been on the committee every year since and has led the effort for the last three years.

They were trying to come up with a good name for their fledgling fund raiser, Ward said, when Lin Steinko, a friend who had some experience in fund raising through golf, asked about the purpose.

“We had already selected the four organizations we would support,” Ward said, “and we told him, ‘we are creating opportunities for them.’”

“There’s our name,” Steinko replied. “Opportunities Open.”

Lin acted as advisor that first year and planned to get some remuneration for his efforts. But when the first tournament raised only about $5,000, he refused to take anything.

Since then, Ward said, the event has grown and the committee has learned more every year. Three years ago, including the double-your-money match from the estate of Rotary stalwart Hal Launders, the Opportunities Open raised $80,000, the top-grossing event.

“This year,” Ward said, “we hope to beat last year’s total of $60,800. And we plan in the future to hit $80,000 and to go over $100,000.”

Early on, the Rotary project got real boost from the German Armed Forces Command, headquartered at Dulles International Airport.

The Germans' commander, a Rotarian in his own country – Rotary is a worldwide organization of businessmen and women dedicated to serving their communities – started attending the meetings at the airport. How about I put out a bucket at our annual Oktoberfest, he said, and we get donations for Rotary?

That brought in a couple thousand dollars, Ward recalled, and “We were elated.”

Then the German Rotarian said, how about we just add a dollar to the Oktoberfest ticket price, and earmark it for the Opportunities open? That’ll work.

The next general to come in upped that to $3, Ward said, and the Oktoberfest donation has been about $5,000 a year ever since.

And every subsequent commander has joined the Dulles International Airport Rotary, even if not a Rotarian at home.

Then about five years ago, the estate of Hal Launders, one of the original founding members of the Dulles Rotary, starting making a partial match to the money raised by the golfing. For the last three years, it’s been a full match.

“This is the Double Your Money Opportunities Open,” Ward said. “Every dollar that is donated or committed will be doubled and four very good organizations will benefit.”

Over the last 14 years, Ward said, the continued support of the Northern Virginia business community for the Opportunities Open has resulted in donations of more than $400,000 to the four organizations that serve the disabled “in their efforts to support our local community.”

Sponsorship opportunities range from Title Sponsor at $10,500 (First hole sponsorship, back cover of the tournament program, special recognition at all events and in all  publications, 12 golfers, signage on the cart, 12 lunch tickets and 12 dinner tickets) to an Awards Dinner Ticket for $50. And there’s lots of room for sponsors at all levels in between – and every dollar will be doubled. Corporate sponsors are especially welcome, Ward said, and smaller businesses can band together for one of the higher priced sponsorships—several years ago, four local businesses bought the Title Sponsor and each sent three employees for a day of golf.

Those companies weren’t sure that they wanted to spend money to send employees golfing, Ward recalled, but when they realized that their sponsorship contribution would be doubled, and that it would go to benefit ARC, LARC, ECHO and ServiceSource, they wrote the check.

Corporate sponsors this year already include Capital One, Wal-Mart, Omniplex, Marriott International, VW of America and the German Armed Forces Command of the United States and Canada.

 An individual golfer can sign on for $225, but it works out to a little less, $206.25 per golfer when a foursome signs up.

The Germans, Ward said, also sponsor a foursome of Wounded Warriors – veterans injured in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Individual and foursome sponsorships for Wounded Warriors are also accepted.

Go to www.OpportunitiesOpen.com for a complete listing of all sponsorship available.

And plain old donations are always welcome. Call Scott Ward at 703-406-8200, e-mail Scott.Ward@OpportunitiesOpen.com.

Schedule for the 15th Annual Opportunities Open, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Dulles International Airport:

Date: September 26, 2011

Place: Hidden Creek Country Club, Reston, Virginia 

10 a.m. –    Registration 

11 a.m. –    Lunch 

Noon –       Shotgun start

4:30 p.m. – Silent Auction and Cocktail Reception

5:30 p.m. – Dinner 

6:30 p.m. – Silent Auction ends, Awards Ceremony begins

By Shannon Sollinger for the Rotary Club of Dulles International Airport