Riverside, Calif., March, 2000--More than 60 golfers took to the links on Thursday, March 11, to participate in the 13th annual La Sierra Alumni Golf Tournament.

The nearly $10,000 that golfers raised for the university's worthy student fund surpassed the amount raised during last year's tournament by $4,000, organizers say.

The crystalline blue skies and perfect golf-playing temperatures gave the first indication that the beautiful mid-winter day would turn out successful, said tournament organizer Amy Esposito, La Sierra Annual Fund and Event coordinator.

"The rain let up, the sun was shining and everyone could focus on having a good time and playing their best," said Esposito, now in her second year of organizing the tournament.

She cited several reasons for this year's fund-raising gains, including sponsors who increased their level of giving. The Parkview Community Hospital of Riverside doubled its sponsorship level from $1,000 to $2,000 and the Business Press, the Inland Empire's leading business journal, ran six quarter-page ads to promote the event.

In addition to Parkview and The Business Press, other tournament sponsors were The Press Enterprise, The Peterson Foundation, the law offices of Clayson, Mann, Yaegar and Hansen, Jim and Kathleen's West Coast Travel and Wells Fargo Bank. Participants at the gold level donated $2,000, silver-level sponsors gave $1,000 and valued-level sponsors donated $500.

Money was also raised through golf fees, tee sponsorships and numerous raffle prizes. Esposito said a better array of raffle offerings also induced more participation. The grand prize of a Pacific cruise from Jim and Kathleen's West Coast Travel was won by La Sierra alumnus James Hansen from the Class of 1976.

Other raffle prizes were a videocassette recorder from Hasco Heating and Air Conditioning, season tickets to the Riverside Philharmonic and a handcrafted set of golf clubs from La Sierra alumnus Pete Knudsen of Glendora, Calif.

More so than other Advancement events, Esposito said the golf tournament draws heavily from local businesses and community organizations. "Through their participation, many of these organizations are saying: 'We value La Sierra, we believe in what it represents and we want to support what's going on there,'" Esposito said.

Among the participants in this year's tournament were employees from California Baptist University, the UBS Printing Group of Corona and the Days Inn of Riverside.

Competition was friendly out on the course, Esposito said, but like all other sporting events, there were winners. A team captained by Dan Smith, senior pastor of the La Sierra University Church, shot a 59 on the 18-hole golf course, or 11 under par.

But this scorching score was equaled by a team consisting of Gene Robinson, and Samuel, Victor and David Espinoza, the majority of whom are La Sierra alumni. So a sudden death play-off determined the final outcome and the Espinoza team took the award.

Given this year's success, Esposito was quick to stress that everyone won - especially worthy students at La Sierra.

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