Caddying Mines’ Future

Every spring, Colorado School of Mines Alumni Association (CSMAA) hosts four annual golf tournaments, each led by a committee of Mines alumni and friends. This year, all proceeds from each event will support Mines student scholarships.

The Golden Scholarship Golf Tournament, now in its 33rd year, will raise funds for student scholarships for the second year in a row. With the recent change to the alumni association’s membership model in 2016, the Board of Directors voted to create a Golden golf scholarship fund, instead of using the proceeds to benefit alumni programming and operations.

This model follows suit of the other three scholarship golf tournaments, led by the Houston Endowed Scholarship Tournament. Created in 2001 by George Puls ’75, Kim Harden ’74 and Dean Stoughton ’75, MS ’78, the Houston Golf Tournament was established with the goal of providing athletic and academic scholarships for deserving students from Houston.

Now leading the charge are Mike Scherrer ’83 and Lew Mologne ’83, along with other members of the Houston Golf Committee. The tournament has raised endowment funds totaling over $547,000, offering 35 scholarships to students. A current mechanical engineering student and volleyball player from Houston, Alanna Winfield (Class of 2017), was a scholarship recipient last year and says this scholarship has made her dreams possible.

“Ever since I was little, I wanted to study math and science, and starting in middle school, I wanted to play college athletics,” explains Winfield. “This organization has made it possible for me to play a successful collegiate sport at an amazing institution and graduate in four years, juggling both of these with a mechanical engineering degree that is setting me up for a successful future.”

Next in line to establish a golf tournament was the Oklahoma City Section (now known as the Oklahoma City M Club), spearheaded by T. Weston Hamilton ’07 and 2016 Mines Alumnus of the Year, Jim Taylor ’76. Proceeds from this tournament benefit the Oklahoma City Endowed Scholarship Fund, which has raised over $164,000 since its inception and has awarded nine scholarships.

Last year, Gregory Chapman (Class of 2018), was awarded one of the scholarships. “My family and I are so thankful for this scholarship,” says Chapman. “Being able to go to Mines is such a privilege, and this scholarship has helped me be where I believe I am supposed to be.”

In just its third year, the Dallas/Fort Worth Scholarship Tournament is the most recently established alumni golf tournament. CSMAA Board Member Tim Saenger ’95, working with Debbie Ozee and Jeff Frayser ’83, led efforts to create a golf tournament in another part of Texas, where many Mines alumni and friends live.

Rachel Becker (Class of 2017), was one of the first recipients of the DFW scholarship. “Mines has created many amazing opportunities for me, both in academia and in extracurricular activities,” says Becker. “I am so appreciative of the donors and sponsors of this scholarship fund who make our education and experiences like these more attainable.”

The Golden Golf Committee will be led this year by several alumni, including Scott Hodgson ’03, Lee Fanyo ’04, MS ’05 and CSMAA Executive Director Damian Friend ’75.

“We’re excited that for the second year, proceeds from the Golden Golf Tournament will go to support student scholarships,” says Ray Priestley ’79, president of the CSMAA Board of Directors. “Participants can help the alumni association share the gift of a prestigious Mines education with our world’s future leaders.”