Mount Laurel, NJ (CLL) - History was made at the 26th annual Cheltenham Little League golf outing, as the community got together at Ramblewood Country Club to raise significant funds for the league and honor one of our longtime members who recently passed away.

Last year, the weather hampered our efforts, but that was not the case in 2021, as this year's event was a total sellout! Not only that, our sponsorship efforts were through the roof, thanks in no small part to our presenting sponsor, Warminster Dental. Their contribution, along with the Andrew Montroy Law Firm, Bruce Rangnow, Leckman Law, D-Town Dental, Premier Group Insurance and Comcast Business raised our numbers to new heights.

This year's event however, was a celebration of the life of Tony Gaddess. Popi, as he was known to his grandchildren, lost his life earlier this year and will be sorely missed. Tony, who helped start this event 28 years ago (we missed a couple along the way), leaves behind his wife Margaret (Peg), children Allison and Andrew and three grandchildren, Charlotte, Daniel and Ryder Anthony, who were all in attendance. "Thank you Cheltenham Little League for this tremendous day," said Andrew Gaddess. "It meant a lot to my entire family and I know my dad would have been honored."

Kevin Kundla, who also was a driving force in starting this outing back in the day, was in attendance and offered his insights. "The golf committee should be proud of the event they engineered. Wow, what a superb turnout! Thank you for organizing the Gaddess clan to attend. What a great gesture to honor all of Tony's past efforts."

Scores at this year's event were the best ever, led by the team of Matt Lawlor Jr, Matt Meyers, Kevin Graham and Sebastian DeRosa, who carded a 13-under-par score of 59! Runner-up honors went to the group of Fran Martino, Fran Martino Jr, Brendan Sullivan and Dan Martino, who finished a shot back. A couple of former champions tied for third. Last year's winners, Franklin Bryant, Sean Graf, Brian Valunas and John Heary were joined by Phil Sokol's foursome of Lawrence Sokol, Mike Kern and Steve Lucas. Skill prizes were awarded to Chris Bruno for the straightest drive and Fran Martino Sr. won the closest to the pin award with a shot, just 7'4" away.

"This outing had another level of energy, excitement and appreciation," said former CLL President Michael Cornelison, who has played in this event for a dozen years. "The golf tournament has evolved into an annual reunion for many CLL past and present volunteers who greet each other as longtime friends and catch up on each other's families," continued Cornelison. "I spoke with a few golfers joining us for their first time who were blown away with what the event provides in golf and goodies."

We would be remiss if we didn't mention other key factors in pulling off such a successful event, and that starts with our volunteers, coordinated by CLL board member Gail Chase. Her top notch group of Brian Trainor, Jerry Czech, Tami Montroy, Janet Sokol, Kelly, Jim and Pru Rebitz, Gene Mattia, Harry Morrissey, Bruce Rangnow and Bernie Labenki were amazing as always and brought a key ingredient to the outing. In addition, MaST Community Charter School was well represented by four of its National Honor Society students, who also spent their day on the course. Emily and Olivia Behr, Molly Farrell and Tessa Rader greeted all of our players and rode around the golf course cheering on our golfers.

Once again, John Campoli took foursome pictures and shots around the course and provided a free website to download your favorite shots, free of charge. That's the kind of support that JC Campoli has contributed to CLL for years! In addition, other sponsors who stepped up were Sprinkles Ice Cream Shoppe, Russell Roofing, Stuckert Plumbing, Everest Discovery, Think Green LLC, Montgomery County Community College, Lindinger's Catering and Art Gordon Cash Registers.

On a final note, this event could never take place without the support of the board and leadership of Cheltenham Little League and its president, Art Gordon. Thank you to all and a special thank you to our core group, Ron Camp, Gail Chase, Tim Hassall and Bruce Rangnow, who make my job so much easier. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

Plans are already in the works for 2022, as the 27th staging of this great fundraiser will be held Monday, October 10th! So, mark your calendar.