By Stephen Hemelt
L’Observateur

LAPLACE — Golf lovers and community supporters have plenty of time to tee up when the Lions Club of LaPlace hosts its 11th Annual Lions Charity Golf Tournament presented by Fatty’s Main Street Grill Friday at Riverlands Country Club.

The four-man scramble tournament will have a shotgun start at 1 p.m.

Lions Club First Vice President Melynie Wright said teams can register the morning of the event, but club officials are asking those interested in playing who want to sign up to give a heads-up call if possible.

Wright can be reached at 225-328-6084, and Dr. Christy Montegut is available at 985-652-3344 for more information.

“Let’s say you play golf and you all of a sudden wind up having the day off, we’ll take singles and doubles,” Wright said. “You don’t have to be part of a team, we’ll just fit you in.”

Tournament proceeds are used locally to help St. John Parish residents with two main projects: the Louisiana Eye Foundation and the Lions Camp for Handicapped and Diabetic youth.

“We send kids with different disabilities to camp free for a week,” Wright said. “We eyesight screen children, 3-, 4- and 5-years-old. We’ll assist anyone who has issues with eyesight that does not have the means to take care of that, up to and including getting them involved with a doctor, medicine or new eyeglasses.”

Last year’s event raised more than $7,000, as the golf tournament is one of the club’s two major yearly fundraisers.

Registration begins at 11 a.m. Friday, and range balls will be available. Food and beverages will be provided throughout the day.

There will be gifts for every golfer and door prizes, along with Longest Drive, Closest to the Hole, Red Hot Lady Shots, and Putting Contest competitions.

The fee for each team is $440, and the fee for an individual player is $110.

Tournament players and sponsors are invited to a social with cash bar and live band that will be held at Fatty’s Main Street Grill on Friday night after play.

Spouses and guests of golfers are welcome to attend. All donations made to the Laplace Lions Club Foundation are tax deductible.

“Locally, we try to be involved in our community as much as we can,” Wright said. “’To Serve’ is our motto. Usually these are the same people double dipping and triple dipping into other service programs in the community.

“We have quite a few restaurants donating food and cooking for us. It really is a community affair.”