Due to the extreme heat that blanketed the country in late August, the annual AASV Foundation Golf Outing originally scheduled for August 23 was postponed until September 27. The decision to postpone the event turned out to be a good one, as participants enjoyed a lovely fall day with temperatures in the 70s instead of having to suffer through August’s 110+ heat index. Thirty-one golfers competed in the best-ball team contest over Veenker Memorial’s challenging golf course in Ames, Iowa.
The AMVC team of Josh Ellingson, Trey Kellner, Shelby Ramirez, and Nick Weihs took top honors with a score of eleven under par. The Fairmont Vet Clinic team (Justin Borchardt, Javen Holm, Brian Roggow, and Steve Sumey) came in a close second at ten under, despite missing their usual teammate and not-so-secret weapon, Deb Roggow. At five under par, a tiebreaker was needed to determine the third-place winner: Aurora Pharmaceutical’s team of Mark Brinkman, David Knock, Roger Rathjen, and Grant Weaver.
Additionally, contests and games were offered at several of the holes to test and reward individual skills. In the Random Club Challenge hosted by NPPC, a golfer from each team drew a club assignment from a hat and then had to complete the entire hole with the designated club. Justin Borchardt proved to be the winner, completing the par-4 hole in only 4 strokes with a 6-iron. At hole #2, Kemin Animal Health challenged golfers to chip into a cooler, with successful participants entered in a drawing for one of two Bose Soundlink Color II speakers. Huvepharma held a gift card drawing and provided Visa gift cards for closest-to-the-pin tee shots at their sponsored hole and Aurora Pharmaceutical rewarded the golfer with the longest putt at hole #18 with a generous gift card.
All of the team and contest winners are recognized below, with the exception of the team composed of Marcus Kehrli, Kent Schwartz, Steve Sornsen, Ron White, and Jeff Zimmerman. While these golfers did not make it into the traditional placings, they declared themselves winners in the "over 65 division" (being the only team with all players over the age of 65).
The overall success of this fundraising event is due in large part to the generous support of sponsors. For several years, Boehringer Ingelheim has sponsored the awards dinner andZoetis has hosted the beverages for the day. Merck Animal Health stepped up to provide the golfers’ lunches this year and seven golf-hole sponsors provided on-course giveaways, games, and contests for the golfers to enjoy. Please join the foundation in thanking Agri-King, APC, Aurora Pharmaceutical, Huvepharma, Insight Wealth Group, Kemin Animal Nutrition & Health, and National Pork Producers Council for their support!
The funds raised by the event help support a variety of AASV Foundation activities, including scholarships for students and graduate veterinarians, research grants, student debt relief, swine externship grants, travel stipends for students attending the AASV Annual Meeting, Heritage videos, and more.
Dr. Josh Ellingson coordinated the event for the foundation and announced the following team and individual contest winners during the concluding awards dinner:
First flight
First place: Hosted by AMVC: Josh Ellingson, Trey Kellner, Shelby Ramirez, Nick Weihs
Second place: Hosted by Fairmont Vet Clinic: Justin Borchardt, Javen Holm, Brian Roggow, Steve Sumey
Third place: Hosted by Aurora Pharmaceutical: Mark Brinkman, David Knock, Roger Rathjen, Grant Weaver
Second flight
First place: Hosted by VRI: Ben Crawford, Travis Harrison, Brian Martinson, Mike Roof
Second place: Hosted by Phibro Animal Health: Dennis Dwyer, Mark Rooney
Third place: Combined Individuals: Jeb Gent, Chelcee Hindman, Jim Lovin, Anna McGeehan
Fourth place: Hosted by Merck Animal Health: Mike Bauer, Darran Miller, Michelle Sprague, Steve Sprague
Individual contests
Hole #2, Chipping contest, sponsored by Kemin Animal Nutrition & Health: Brian Martinson and Darran Miller
Hole #4, Closest to the pin, second shot: Anna McGeehan
Hole #7, Closest drive to the target: Mark Rooney
Hole #11, Closest to the pin, tee shot, sponsored by Huvepharma: Jim Lovin (1st), Brian Roggow (2nd)
Hole #15, Random club challenge, sponsored by NPPC: Justin Borchardt
Hole #16, Closest to the pin, 3rd shot: Ron White
Hole #18, Longest putt, sponsored by Aurora Pharmaceutical: Mark Brinkman