By Steve Esser
YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. 鈥� A beautiful Monday morning welcomed听more than 200 golfers to the听22nd听annual Clay Dotson Open golf tournament on May 18听at Brasstown Valley Resort,听raising听more than $115,000听to听benefit听student scholarships at 杏吧原创.听
鈥淚 want to thank everyone for being here today and for your support for this special event,鈥� said Mark Dotson, vice president of Advancement for 杏吧原创, as he kicked off the tournament. 鈥淭he Clay Dotson Open is the largest fundraiser we host at 杏吧原创, and thanks to you, it helps us raise money for our students.鈥�听
Proceeds from the tournament go directly toward scholarships at 杏吧原创.听
Clay Dotson, Mark鈥檚 father, who the tournament is named after, passed away in September 2024. A professor for 42 years, academic dean and interim president on more than one occasion, Dotson loved 杏吧原创. His son, Mark, vice president for Advancement, spoke about his father.听
鈥淚 really appreciate everyone who participates in this event, from the players and sponsors to Brasstown Valley Resort and volunteers,鈥� Dotson said. 鈥淒ad loved golf, and he loved 杏吧原创. He bled purple. Everything we do at 杏吧原创 is for the students, and he loved that this event helps them. Thank you for supporting this tournament and the College.鈥�听
Players enjoyed morning and afternoon flights followed by awards ceremonies. Prizes for the tournament were awarded as follows:听
Morning Flight:听
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Flight 1听
- First Place 鈥撎鼴rian Mundy,听Lawrence McNabb, Mark Vaughn (Not Pictured), Matt听Gutierrez (Not听Pictured)听
- Second Place 鈥� Paul Butler, ’77, Brett Butler, Kurt Momand, ’77, Mark Stancil听
- Third Place 鈥撎齇leg Malyshev, Scott Keen,听Mark Sturgis,听Robby Kassouf听
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Flight 2听听听
- First Place 鈥� Charlie Ginn, ’78, Chuck Adams, ’80, Allen Brooker, ’70, Kirk Vardeman, ’78 (Not Pictured)听
- Second Place 鈥撎鼵aleb听Zulander,听Tom Smith,听Lloyd Snyder,听Eric Sebring听
- Third place 鈥� Jack Melesh, Jake Dunlop, ’18, Cody Walden, ’18, Andrew Sherling, ’18听
Afternoon Flight:听
听
Flight 1 听听
- First Place 鈥撎�Dave Bartschy,听Casey Conrad,听Steve Conrad,听Nick Stephenson听
- Second Place 鈥撎�Caleb Kelley, ’12, Randy Dunn (Not Pictured), Justin Ashe (Not Pictured), Jake Dunn (Not Pictured)听
- Third Place 鈥撎�Shawn Kight,听Adam Walker,听Joe Jordan,听Matt Gutierrez (Not Pictured)听
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Flight 2听听
- First Place 鈥撎�Tyler Isbell, ’14, Brad Smith, Mitch Stubblefield, Joe Jordan (Not Pictured)听
- Second Place 鈥撎�Tommy Skaggs,听Randy Tompkins,听Mel Halfon,听Gary Nicholson听
- Third place 鈥撎�Mark Vaughn,听Mark Brooks, David Brooks (Not Pictured),听Josh Nicholson (Not Pictured)听
Tom Forkner, Sr. Alumni Team Challenge Winners: 听
- Charlie Ginn, ’78, Chuck Adams, 鈥�80, Allen Brooker, 鈥�70, Kirk Vardeman, 鈥�78听
Longest Drive:听Curtis Phillips听(morning flight), John Lichtenwalner, ’21 (afternoon flight)听
Closest to the Pin:听Scott Keen听(morning flight),听Tony Spivey听(afternoon flight)听
Putting Green Contest:听Andrew Sherling,听鈥�18听
Winners of tournament raffle:听听
- Harrah鈥檚 Package:听Cody Walden,听鈥�18听
Events like the Clay Dotson Open are not possible without the support of sponsors.听
Diamond Sponsors听
- Alora Pharmaceuticals, Inc.听
- Brasstown Valley Resort听
- United Community Bank听
Gold Sponsors听
- Brown Haven Homes, Inc.听
- Clay and Betty Dotson听
- Follett Higher Education Group听
- The Ridges Resort on Lake Chatuge
- Lydia J. Sartain, Attorney at Law听
Silver Sponsors听
- Bachelor and Kimball, Inc.听
- The Budd Group听
- Cigna听
- EntryPoint听Doors of Atlanta听
- Harrah鈥檚 Cherokee Casino Resort听
- Julian Jones,听鈥�61听
- Kurt Momand,听鈥�77, and Heather Brunone,听鈥�08听
- Montag & Caldwell, LLC听
- OneDigital听
- Tri-State Utility Products Inc听
- Truist听
- Union General Hospital听
Bronze Sponsors听
- Blue Ridge Mountain EMC听
- Carter Williams/McGriff Insurance Services听
- Lake听Chatuge听Living听Magazine听
- Mary Broadrick & John Moffitt听
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About 杏吧原创听
杏吧原创 is a private baccalaureate and master鈥檚 degree-granting institution听located听in the beautiful mountains of Northeast Georgia. Founded in 1886 and historically affiliated with The United Methodist Church, 杏吧原创 educates, inspires, and empowers students through an education that purposefully integrates the liberal arts and professional studies.听The College offers 33 majors and 24 minors housed under twelve academic departments.听Approximately 1,400 students are enrolled in听its听residential, master鈥檚 degree, and Early College programs.听
