It was a lucky day for Clarence Dorey of Clawson, Aug. 24, at a fund raiser at Fountains Golf Club in Independence Township ? he won a new car lease with a hole-in-one.
Dorey won the prize during the 4th annual charity event for Helping Hearts Helping Hands, a foundation created by Clarkston graduate Erica Cale when she was 15 years old. He won a two-year lease on a 2013 Ford Escape, a prize valued at about $10,000, courtesy of Szott Ford in Holly.
It was the first time in the history of Fountains Golf Club in Clarkston that a golfer won a car. Clarkston resident Sandy Turner, wife of Chris Turner, principal at Independence Elementary, witnessed Dorey’s lucky hole-in-one while volunteering as a hole spotter during the event.
Dorey, an avid golfer, said he was ecstatic.
‘It was my first time getting a hole-in- one,? he said. ‘And winning the car was just icing on the cake. I was so overwhelmed the rest of the afternoon.?
He added he participated in the outing because his company was a sponsor of the event, and he has known Erica’s parents for a long time.
‘I also wanted to support a good cause,? he said.
Dorey said he is going to keep the car, and let his 15-year-old daughter drive it when she gets her license.
Just over 70 golfers participated in the event to raise money for Helping Hearts Helping Hands, a non-profit mission to poverty stricken children in Honduras. The group provides water, clothing, shoes, vitamins and personal care products.
Cale said her organization also helps families establish businesses to provide income and help them be self-sufficient. She spends about nine months a year in Honduras, raising two girls at the Helping Hearts Helping Hands? foster care home.
Erica’s father Jeff said the golf outing at Fountains is just one of the fundraisers his daughter holds throughout the year to benefit kids.
‘She has always had a passion for helping people,? he said.
Jeff said he is amazed how the community stepped up to help sponsor the event, which included donating items to a silent auction.
Several local businesses also sponsored breakfast, lunch and holes on the course during the outing.
Erica thanked everyone who attended and businesses sponsoring the outing.
‘Now many new children will have food on their plates and clean water to drink,? she said. ‘Water purification systems will be installed in remote villages to help provide clean drinking water to villages that are infested with parasites and contaminated water.?