Tewatohnhi’saktha ends golf tournament

Tewatohnhi’saktha has decided to shelve its annual Business Golf Challenge event, making room for other initiatives as it embarks on implementing its 2025-2028 strategic plan.

“There’s a lot of work that goes into it, a lot of time and effort and pre-planning, and we’ve had a lot of talk about doing different events, like a career fair, or a reverse trade show for businesses,” said Tewatohnhi’saktha executive director Tammy Skawenná:ti Delaronde. “We thought if all of these ideas are coming in about another large event, maybe we should put golf on hold, because it’s not really part of our mandate.”

Over the years, the golf challenge has raised the better part of $1 million for local initiatives and organizations, with over $973,800 drummed up in donations since its inception 20 years ago.

The event has adapted over the years, having started out with more networking, with businesses meeting one another before the golfing started. After a few years, it became obvious that golf was the main draw for participants, and so the event shifted to focus just on the golf tournament and associated fundraising activities, like auctions.

“We were all a little bit sad about giving it up, because we’ve all been involved throughout the years volunteering on the day, and it’s always exciting for those who participate in it,” said Delaronde. “We like to see local charities benefit from it every year, but we need to focus on educational opportunities and things like that.”

Delaronde said that she hopes Tewatohnhi’saktha leaving the golf fundraiser circuit will mean another community initiative could take its place.

“If anybody out there wants to do their own golf tournament, it relieves that pressure because we’ve always done it consistently, every single year,” Delaronde said. “This frees up the space, so to speak, for another tournament.”

The team at Tewatohnhi’saktha held the final edition of the Business Golf Challenge at the end of August at Lafleur Golf Club, where more than $115,600 was raised for the Kahnawake Youth Center (KYC). That amount will cover the KYC trip to Scandinavia next summer.

Delaronde said that while the golf tournament is ending, the organization is still planning to prioritize youth in its programming going forward.

“Other events we have in mind would be really client-driven, with our clients who are looking for work, or younger clients who are looking to plan their future,” she said.

Tewatohnhi’saktha’s new strategic plan will be implemented in spring of next year.

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