RUMFORD — The 12th annual Rumford Eagles Club Charity Golf Tournament for the Hope Association of Rumford will be held at the Oakdale Country Club in Mexico on Sunday.

This tournament is something special,” event founder and Eagles member Robert Fulton said. “We’ll have 60 Eagles members, 15 teams of four, playing 18 holes of golf at the Oakdale Country Club to benefit the Hope Association Special Activities Fund.”

The Hope Association is a nonprofit organization that provides a wide range of services for people with developmental disabilities in the River Valley.

“The funds that are collected from this golf tournament will pay for activities (for Hope clients) not covered by MaineCare, such as bowling and swimming programs,” Vickie Sayce of the Hope Association said.

Fulton’s inspiration for starting the Eagles golf tournament for the Hope Association was his years working as a school special education teacher.

“I was always concerned about what my students did after school,” Fulton said. “I have always been impressed with what Hope Association does.”

“The first year we started the fundraiser, we passed around the hat and collected $200 for the Hope Association,” he said. “The next year we began playing a charity tournament for Hope at the Oakdale.”

“It has been a good arrangement, as many of the Eagles are Oakdale members, and it really is a gem of a golf course that few people know about,” Fulton said.

“We have been collecting about $2,000 a year for the Hope Association ever since,” he said.

“We get local businesses to sponsor holes and raffle prizes,” Fulton said.

“I am grateful for the many sponsors who make this tournament possible,” Fulton said. “I must give a special thanks to R.A. Tibbetts Logging and Trucking Co. of Oxford for their being a big sponsor every year we’ve had this tournament.”

There is a 50/50 raffle and a hamburger/hot dog cookout at the tournament.

Sunday’s tournament will begin with a 7:30 a.m tee time for the first team. The other 14 teams will follow at 10-minute intervals, and the Callaway system will be used to keep score.

The general public is welcome to attend and admission is free. 

“Raffle tickets to win many gift certificates from area businesses will be sold at the tournament for $1 each and six for $5,” Fulton said.

Raffle tickets are also currently available at the Rumford Eagles Post and the Hope Association’s What Not Shop.

Local community access television Channel 7 will record the entire tournament for later public viewing.

“This is one of those tournaments that everyone has a great deal of fun,” Fulton said. “At heart, though, it’s all about the charity.”

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