A record 21 teams participated in the Cass County Friends of Youth State Fair Scholarship Fund golf tournament at Tianna Country Club in Walker to help raise money to defray the expenses of Cass County 4-H students who will exhibit projects at the Minnesota State Fair.
Two teams sponsored by the Cass Company Insurance Agency tied for first place, sharing $500 in cash prizes for first and second place, with Scott Felton’s team taking third and a $100 award. All the teams donated their winnings back to the scholarship fund.
Total awards from the tournament and cash donations from area individuals, businesses and organizations will be announced after winners eligible for State Fair competition are selected at the Cass County Fair in Pine River on June 24-27.
This was the eighth year of the tournament that started in 2013 and was held annually except during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The golf tournament and an associated fundraiser were organized by longtime Cass County 4-H coordinator Barb Frederick, Sue Bye Elyea and her husband, Leo, an avid golfer, all of Backus.
Frederick had been raising funds to help defray the increasing costs for area students to show their exhibits in St. Paul, including transportation, entry fees, meals and lodging. She and Sue Elyea came up with the idea when they were concerned that many county fair 4-H winners couldn’t afford the trip to St. Paul. Leo Elyea then joined the effort, organizing the golf tournament.
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Cass and Hubbard county organizations, including veterans posts, business and individuals sponsored golf teams, purchased hole sponsorships and donated cash, prizes, advertising and other services and made direct contributions to the scholarship fund.
The three co-chairs have raised thousands of dollars over the years, including $6,000 in expense money donated to 25 county students exhibiting at the State Fair in 2019. In a Letter to the Editor published in the Echo Journal, the fundraising group announced that, "Due to old age and health, this was our last year. Anyone else is welcome to take over the project."
Leo and Susan Bye-Elyea, Barb Fredricks and Gary Dawson
