By Ashley M. Casey
Staff Writer
After 25 years, the Saraceni family is hanging up its clubs on the John Nostrant Memorial Golf Tournament. In the Nostrant tournament’s place, Ironwood Golf and Country Club is starting a new contest to support a different community organization each year. The proceeds from the inaugural All Around Town Tournament, which takes place June 25, will go to the Greater Baldwinsville Ambulance Corps.
Rick Lees, Ironwood’s general manager, said the John L. Nostrant Scholarship fund has become perpetual and no longer needs the revenue from the tournament. Ironwood had hosted the Nostrant tournament for its 25 years, so management decided to continue paying it forward in Baldwinsville.
“We decided we wanted to continue in the same kind of footsteps, but in a different direction,” Lees said. “Each year, we are going to pick a different nonprofit [that will benefit].”
Lees said Ironwood chose the GBAC as its first beneficiary because the ambulance corps has responded to medical emergencies at the golf course. Founded in 1962, the GBAC is a largely volunteer-based, nonprofit emergency medical services provider that responds to emergencies within the towns of Van Buren, Lysander and Geddes and the village of Baldwinsville. The GBAC’s 28 volunteers, 12 full-time employees and 15 part-time employees work as drivers, paramedics and emergency medical technicians.
“These guys have been so professional, and we thought that would be a good place to start,” Lees said. “They deserve to be recognized.”
Lees said the GBAC is “tickled to death” to be the first organization to benefit from the All Around Town Tournament, which bears a slogan of “Neighbors helping neighbors.”
“Jim Hogan is the director of the GBAC. He was absolutely ecstatic,” Lees said. “These guys work very, very hard. … They do provide a very fabulous service.”
Ironwood is accepting 18 four-person teams for the All Around Town Tournament. Registration costs $300 per team and includes a golf cart; Ironwood requires a $100 deposit to hold your team’s spot. Businesses can sponsor a hole for $175 or a tee for $50.
“We’ll take people right up to the date of the tournament if we can,” Lees said.
Check-in for the tournament begins at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, June 25, with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. Call 635-9826 to register a team or become a sponsor.
Ironwood Golf and Country Club is located at 7439 Canton Street Road in Baldwinsville. To learn more, visit ironwoodbville.com.
