Golfers Come Out in Force to Support St. John's

September 30, 2009

More than 120 golfers teed off to raise funds for student scholarships at St. John’s University’s sold out 2009 Alumni Golf Outing at the Engineers Country Club in Roslyn, NY on Tuesday, September 29, 2009.

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One of the largest groups to attend the annual outing gathered early for registration, brunch and the opportunity for a last-minute warm up on the driving range and putting green before the day’s shotgun start. Participants were in good spirits and enjoyed the day of golf.

“Today’s event was absolutely wonderful,” said Richard Ziesig '76C who was joined by his uncle Jim Kelly '51C from California. “The weather was great; we got some wind which helped some of our shots and actually knocked down some of our other bad shots so it worked both ways coming and going,” he joked.

Golf Outing Committee member Scott Watson '81L who has a longstanding love for St. John’s was proud to be part of this event. “I grew up in Queens not that far from St. John’s,” he recalls. “I was a bat boy for the St. John’s baseball team in the ’60s and I’ve attended St. John’s basketball games for many years. Even though I did not attend St. John’s as an undergrad I did go to the Law School so I feel like I’m part of the big St. John’s family.”  

Following an exciting day of golf, 150 alumni and friends gathered for cocktails and an elegant dinner to recognize honoree Paul J. Reilly ’79CBA, Executive Vice President Finance and Operations and Chief Financial Officer of Arrow Electronics, Inc.

Reilly was honored to be recognized and took the opportunity to encourage others to support current students in any way they can, especially given today’s economic challenges. “It’s an important time now because not everybody can get the financial support they need,” he shared. “Maybe we can give them another kind of support by mentoring and counseling, appearing on campus, talking to students, giving them a chance, even as unpaid interns, to get the business experience.”

The successful golf outing offered attendees a fun opportunity to connect with each other while raising funds for scholarships. “It was a wonderful event to engage St. John’s alumni in a great day of golf but more importantly to fund the Long Island Alumni Golf Outing Scholarship Fund,” said William Schaeffer '73CBA, Director of Alumni Relations.

Attendees relished the lively atmosphere with their friends and looked forward to future outings.

Robert Kalenka '84CBA, '91MBA said, “It’s great to catch up with some old friends who I haven’t seen in quite a long time.”

”It was a good day for St. John’s and its alumni,” agreed William Fontanetta '79SVC. “I look forward to coming back again next year.”