LAUREL HILL — When the course for disc golf opened last Saturday for the first time at Camp Monroe, Gene Joiner, camp director, wanted to host an event that meant something special for the community.
The Veterans for Vets Disc Golf Tournament was born.
The event was hosted in conjunction with Dynamic Discs and the money raised at the event will assist armed forces families by providing a scholarship to their children to attend summer camp.
“This is the first event we’ve ever hosted, so today was our true opening day,” Joiner said Saturday. “We’re really excited because we had over 72 participants.”
People came from as far as Sumter, S.C., to play in the tournament. And of course, the armed forces were represented as well. Joiner said there were players from the Army, Air Force, and Marines on the course.
“We want to thank our veterans and not only our veterans but our veteran families for the sacrifice and all the work that they had to endure and go through. By doing this we’re going to be able to provide a free week of camp for military families,” he said.
Camp Monroe offers a 10-week summer camp on the 300-acre property. Campers spend a week there Sunday through Friday for a traditional summer camp.
“We do a lot of activities from swimming to lake to high adventure activities and even arts and crafts,” Joiner said. “We do everything for everybody when they’re here during that week.”
Joiner said the camp is excited be a part of the community and hopes to host at least four tournaments at the camp a year.
For Aberdeen couple, Kat and James Culver said they couldn’t resist coming out to Camp Monroe Saturday morning. “We’re avid disc golfers,” Kat Culver said. “And we were only 25 minutes away.”
“And it’s for a good cause,” James Culver said. “We like giving back to the community.”
Cheris Hodges can be reached at [email protected].