Wesley's Shotgun: A Wildly Successful Tournament
by Barbara Hiura
Gee…What time is it? Gosh…It’s still really dark outside! Wake Up! It’s time for Wesley’s first-ever shot-gun start for their annual fundraising Golf tournament for Missions held at Sunnyvale Golf Course on Aug. 4. Early in the morning, over 60 players took off on various holes around the course to all begin playing the beloved game of golf at the same time…7:30 a.m. This way, the golf committee hoped everyone would finish around the same time. Did it happen? Did it go as planned? Yup!
Indeed, everyone was done within an hour of each other after the round and most were in the Fellowship Hall for a 1:30 lunch buffet start. Everything was different this year in terms of time and lunch rather than dinner… but the fun and the camaraderie…that never changes. All the players whether it was good or bad, had a great time, with stories to tell of their golfing escapades and because of the early tee time start, no one suffered from the usual late afternoon heat. Now that was a huge plus and God’s gift to us.
The buffet lunch catered by Kazoo Restaurant was delicious with a huge spread of Japanese cuisine…from soup to sushi, a variety of fish, chicken, and meat, edamame, potstickers, salad and rice...a very tasty and filling lunch. The meal was capped off by Hawaiian cookie bites and yes….ice-cream. And the day, while long for some finished in the middle of the afternoon so all the seniors which over 95 percent of them were, could be home during the daylight.
The golf committee along with Kelli Martines and Hikaru Bakoshi streamlined the event so it ran almost seamlessly from start to finish. By the time lunch was done, the scorers had completed their task and ready for the awards presentation. Hats off to our flight winners this year.
The Missions and Golf Committee would like to thank all participants and donors for making our fundraising effort wildly successful. We appreciate what you have done for our outreach programs our church serves. The Golf Tournament raised $14,500 in profit. (Pretty good, I’d say!) The $3,600 from the Silent Auction alone went to Vacation Bible School and our church’s youth camps. $4,000 is going to our Compassion Ministry and $400 will be given to Yu-Ai Kai thanking them for their assistance in this event. The rest will go into the church’s Mission Fund.
Special acknowledgements go out to Denny and Laura Kinoshita who annually offer the sizeable Hole-in-One prize. Sadly, no one got it this year. The Church also acknowledges Wayne Kuwada, Golf Committee chair and John Tanaka and Ed Gibo, Missions Committee co-chairs and all the members of both committees. Special thanks go to DeeDee Azuma for the golf program, to Kelli Martines, our registrar, and Hikaru Bakoshi, our onsite photographer and videographer. None of this would’ve happened without them. And of course, we thank God for the bounty God has given us, the spirit of outreach that drives us and the God-inspired love and welcome for all.
Gee…What time is it? Gosh…It’s still really dark outside! Wake Up! It’s time for Wesley’s first-ever shot-gun start for their annual fundraising Golf tournament for Missions held at Sunnyvale Golf Course on Aug. 4. Early in the morning, over 60 players took off on various holes around the course to all begin playing the beloved game of golf at the same time…7:30 a.m. This way, the golf committee hoped everyone would finish around the same time. Did it happen? Did it go as planned? Yup!
Indeed, everyone was done within an hour of each other after the round and most were in the Fellowship Hall for a 1:30 lunch buffet start. Everything was different this year in terms of time and lunch rather than dinner… but the fun and the camaraderie…that never changes. All the players whether it was good or bad, had a great time, with stories to tell of their golfing escapades and because of the early tee time start, no one suffered from the usual late afternoon heat. Now that was a huge plus and God’s gift to us.
The buffet lunch catered by Kazoo Restaurant was delicious with a huge spread of Japanese cuisine…from soup to sushi, a variety of fish, chicken, and meat, edamame, potstickers, salad and rice...a very tasty and filling lunch. The meal was capped off by Hawaiian cookie bites and yes….ice-cream. And the day, while long for some finished in the middle of the afternoon so all the seniors which over 95 percent of them were, could be home during the daylight.
The golf committee along with Kelli Martines and Hikaru Bakoshi streamlined the event so it ran almost seamlessly from start to finish. By the time lunch was done, the scorers had completed their task and ready for the awards presentation. Hats off to our flight winners this year.
The Missions and Golf Committee would like to thank all participants and donors for making our fundraising effort wildly successful. We appreciate what you have done for our outreach programs our church serves. The Golf Tournament raised $14,500 in profit. (Pretty good, I’d say!) The $3,600 from the Silent Auction alone went to Vacation Bible School and our church’s youth camps. $4,000 is going to our Compassion Ministry and $400 will be given to Yu-Ai Kai thanking them for their assistance in this event. The rest will go into the church’s Mission Fund.
Special acknowledgements go out to Denny and Laura Kinoshita who annually offer the sizeable Hole-in-One prize. Sadly, no one got it this year. The Church also acknowledges Wayne Kuwada, Golf Committee chair and John Tanaka and Ed Gibo, Missions Committee co-chairs and all the members of both committees. Special thanks go to DeeDee Azuma for the golf program, to Kelli Martines, our registrar, and Hikaru Bakoshi, our onsite photographer and videographer. None of this would’ve happened without them. And of course, we thank God for the bounty God has given us, the spirit of outreach that drives us and the God-inspired love and welcome for all.
The flight winners were as follows:
Men’s
A Flight
Trevor Wien 75-7-68
Larry Low 80-11-69
Eric Ozaki 83-14-69
B Flight
Walter Nishimoto 94-33-59
Michael Sera 86-19-67
Roy Nakamura 86-16-69
Women’s Flight
Gwen Aso 93-26-67
Ann Kusumoto 101-34-69
Jean Masunaga-Lively 125-56-69
Callaway
Zena Fong 125—48-73
Yoni Saigo 90-16-73
Dan Equsa 80-14-75
Closest to the Pin
#4
A flight Earle Y, 29’6”
B FlightEd Gibo. 19’5”
WFNone
CallowayGeorge Tokushige, 30”4”
#13
A FlightEric Ozaki, 22’8”
B FlightHerb Nagamine, 4’1”
WFJean Masunaga-Hively, 44’6”
CallowayEric Masunaga, 49’
Men’s
A Flight
Trevor Wien 75-7-68
Larry Low 80-11-69
Eric Ozaki 83-14-69
B Flight
Walter Nishimoto 94-33-59
Michael Sera 86-19-67
Roy Nakamura 86-16-69
Women’s Flight
Gwen Aso 93-26-67
Ann Kusumoto 101-34-69
Jean Masunaga-Lively 125-56-69
Callaway
Zena Fong 125—48-73
Yoni Saigo 90-16-73
Dan Equsa 80-14-75
Closest to the Pin
#4
A flight Earle Y, 29’6”
B FlightEd Gibo. 19’5”
WFNone
CallowayGeorge Tokushige, 30”4”
#13
A FlightEric Ozaki, 22’8”
B FlightHerb Nagamine, 4’1”
WFJean Masunaga-Hively, 44’6”
CallowayEric Masunaga, 49’
Men's A Flight Winners were: Eric Ozaki, first place; Larry Low, second; and Trevor Wien, third (not pictured).
Men's B Flight winners, from left: Walter Nishimoto, first place; Michael Sera, second; and Roy Nakamura, third.
Women's Flight winners from left: Gwen Aso, first; Ann Kusumoto, second; and Jean Masunaga-Hively, third.
Callaway Flight, from left: Zena Fong, first; Yoni Saigo, second; and Dan Egusa, third.
John Tanaka (far right), Missions co-chair, began the afternoon program with opening remarks and especially thanking everyone who participated. his was followed by Rev. John Oda giving thanks to God for our meal. Mark Teagle (far left), Director of Spiritual Formation, Community Engagement, and Music, was out illustrious Masters of Ceremonies.
"Delicious!" exclaimed Trent Uenuten and dittoed by Cynthis Fukuda of the Japanese feast.
Everyone had a great time especially winner Walter Nishimoto (clockwise from left), with Monte Kawahara, Jim and Pat Higuchi, and Susumu and Tina Urata.
Nothing left on the plate in this well fed group of from left clockwise, Shizuko Adachi, Yoni Saigo, unknown golfer, Wayne Adachi, Ron Ogi and Dale Sasaki.
The gals were well represented with from left, clockwise: Grace Wada, Ann Kusumoto, Dick Masuda (Da Guy), Shirley Nakasora, Fudge Masuda, Phyllis Fujii, and Gwen Aso.
Posted in Newsletter 2024-08-22 02