Drop it like it#039;s hot

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, July 3, 2007

The Butler County Children's Advocacy Center and the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 39 held the 9th Annual CenturyTel Pro-Law-Am golf tournament at Cambrian Ridge last Wednesday to raise money for the two organizations.

Although golf was the main focus of the day, there was another source of excitement before the tournament began.

Numbered golf balls were sold and then dropped from a helicopter onto a hole at the driving range.

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If a ball went into the hole, the lucky owner of the ball would receive $1,000.

&#8220We sold between 350-400 balls,” said Alabama Probation and Parole Officer Mark Harold, who is also the president of the FOP Lodge.

While none of the balls found the bottom of the cup, Ruby Deudendorf still won $500 for having her ball come closest to the hole.

The idea came from Kathy Smyth, the director of Safe Harbor.

&#8220I brought the idea to the table,” Smyth said. &#8220I saw it done for another children's advocacy center, and everything fell into place.”

The event was made possible with the help of Butler County Sheriff Kenny Harden, who arranged for a Dale County Sheriff's Department helicopter and crew to come in and drop the golf balls.

&#8220The helicopter crew did a superb job for us,” Harold said.

Harold also said that the golf ball drop will become a regular event.

&#8220We're counting on people that came out and watched and saw how much fun it was to come back and participate next year,” he said.

The money raised from the tournament will be split between the FOP Lodge and Safe Harbor, and it is the largest fundraiser of the year for both organizations.

&#8220It was a huge success for us,” Smyth said. &#8220We provide interviews, evaluations and therapy for children that allege abuse or are witnesses to crimes.”

&#8220We do this at no cost to the children and family, so this tournament helps us offset the cost of services,” Smyth continued. &#8220It's an important event to help us meet financial needs. After the state cut funding several years ago, we rely on local fundraisers.”

The FOP uses the money to provide relief to members of the local lodge.

&#8220Any time we have an officer in our lodge who has some kind of need, whether it be a family emergency or something like that, we provide all the help we can,” Harold said.

Harold said he hasn't received the final figures on how much money was raised.

&#8220We're also superbly thankful for all the local businesses that sponsored us, the hole sponsorships that people and businesses gave us, and the corporate sponsorship of CenturyTel,” Harold said.

This year's winning team was composed of Jason Peavy, Glenn Criswell, Lee Criswell and David Hancock.

&#8220We had a great time,” Peavy said. &#8220Last year our team came in second, but we were lucky enough to come in first this year.”

&#8220We've had a blast both years we've been in it,” he added.

Here are the complete scores from Wednesday's tournament:

Law Teams

1st Place

David Anderson - 50

Joe Ptomey

Randy Meeks

Michael Smith

2nd Place

Jim Rhodes - 50.7

Heath Stuckey

Mike Cook

Ruby Deudendorf

3rd Place

John Andrews - 58.4

Wayne Lee

Don Reaves

Zach Little

4th Place

Michael Cannon - 58.6

Chuck Brooks

Tony Stroud

Glenn Wiley

5th Place

Pat Kowalszyk - 60.1

Skip Tallmage

Dave Fowler

Tom Allen

6th Place

Justin Lovvorn - 60.1

Brian Dunn

Byron Russell

Joseph Disney

7th Place

Melvin Ramsey - 62.3

Greg Fralick

Heron Pete

Wes Hayles

8th Place

John Bailey - 62.5

Jason Smith

Mark Plemons

Todd Matney

9th Place

Andrew Beck - 62.5

Gayla Terry

Ronnie Terry

Josh Williams

10th Place

Kenny Harden - 65.4

Travis Johnson

Jimmy Graham

Terry Mullins

11th Place

Darrin O'Neal - 66

Mark Johns

Gary Price

Raymon Ledford

12th Place

Wink Fussell - 69.5

Richard Fussell

James Hall

Phillip Depolo

13th Place

Tim Crooks - WD

Bob Andrews

Tom McDonald

Francine Wasden

Civilian Teams

1st Place

Jason Peavy - 48.8

Glenn Criswell

Lee Criswell

David Hancock

2nd Place

Tim Griffin - 52.3

John Welch

Jeff Adams

Ricky Coleman

3rd Place

Mac Russell - 53.4

Bill Lewis

George Till

Jeff Lovell

4th Place

George Sellers - 54.6

Chris Little

Dale Moorer

Scott Rayburn

5th Place

Cody Wesley - 54.8

Jim McGowin

Mints McGowin

Kessler McGowin

6th Place

Lonzo Ingram - 55.8

Sam Roberts

Josh McLendon

Ben Blackmon

7th Place

Bobby Ginn - 56.4

Bob Foster

Dexter McLendon

Pat Riley

8th Place

William Martin - 56.6

Eric Burkett

David Scott

Earl Martin

9th Place

Jim Roberts - 56.7

Joe Roberts

Angel Rodriguez

Ken Kirk

10th Place

Cliff Fanning - 57.6

Glenn Scott

Mike Patrick

Brian Paulk

11th Place

Earl Washington - 59.7

Ashford Rudolph

John Shoemaker

C.W. Gary

12th Place

David Brantley - 60.1

Mike Arthur

Reggie Mantooth

Josh Beverly

13th Place

Eddie Stone - 65.1

Ronnie Thrasher

David Kelley

Barry Clearman

14th Place

Tim Patton - 66

Jamie Zorn

Chuck Trexler

Jim Patton

Long Drive - Brian Dunn

Closest to hole:

Sherling #2 - Bob Foster

Sherling #4 - Glenn Criswell

Loblolly #4 - Eric Burkett

Loblolly #6 - Michael Cannon, Jr.