Chambers of Commerce Join Forces, Host Annual Golf Tournament

The 2011 Past Chairs' Golf Tournament was held Monday at North Ridge Country Club in Fair Oaks giving people a chance to start off the work week in leisurely fashion with a couple of rounds at the tee.

The and Citrus Heights Regional Chambers of Commerce partnered together for the first time to host the golf tournament, though the tournament has been held annually for the past 20 years.

“It just made sense this year to partner (with Fair Oaks) to have some cross-networking that can happen between our members as well as making it a much larger and quality tournament by combining our sponsors," said Bettie Cosby of the Citrus Height Chamber of Commerce. "We felt like for our sponsors and our players, it gives them more exposure and a more quality event instead of two individual ones.”

The Past Chairs’ Golf Tournament is a nonprofit business fundraiser. The money raised from the tournament is used toward the betterment of Fair Oaks and Citrus Heights.

“Because we’re a nonprofit business, we’re able to help enhance the communities in the surrounding areas here,” said Executive Director of the Fair Oaks Chamber of Commerce, Jan Bass-Otto. “When they (the public) don’t know what to do, they will contact the Chamber of Commerce, so us being in place is so valuable.”

Participants in the golf tournament mostly consisted of city council members, elected officials and past presidents and chairmans of both the Fair Oaks and Citrus Heights chambers. There have been past attempts to attract pro golfers to the tournament but those attempts were unsuccessful.

“We tried to get Tiger Woods to come out to a tournament be he didn't show up,” jokes Otto.

There were 24 sponsors for the golf tournament, including SureWest, Sunrise Mall, Western Health Advantage and PG&E, which were key players in sponsorship, Otto said. In addition, there were over 40 volunteers helping to put together the tournament, including nearly 20 committee members between each chamber.

“It takes a lot of work to put on a tournament this size,” Otto said.

The North Ridge Country Club, which used to be private but is now open to the public, is a favorite among both chambers.

“(It) is by far one of the top services of any club I’ve ever worked with,” Cosby said.

Cosby said that the Past Chairs' Golf Tournaments are a great way to bring the Citrus Heights and Fair Oaks communities together, as well as other areas of Sacramento County as well.

“We’re a regional chamber, so we’re regionally focused,” Cosby said. “Our members cross over the border, for example you don’t have to be a Citrus Heights member to participate, etc. We have people all the way from Roseville participating in this tournament, Elk Grove, businesses located in Downtown.

“It’s not just a small sector, it represents our entire county and into Roseville as well. With the whole surrounding regions, we’re so centrally located that participants are from all over the region.”