But it is the charity component of this annual event that sets it apart.
Anyone can host a golf tournament. But not everyone can raise more than $100,000 — again — for a wide range of local charities that help the needy here in Calhoun County.
For 33 years, the home-grown Sunny King tournament has lured in golfers for a weekend of steamy summer fun. Its sporting value is strong — particularly since it is open to golfers of all skill levels and includes play at several of the area’s top courses.
It really is a countywide affair.
That’s why today we urge Calhoun Countians to join us in reveling in the tournament’s long history of charity work. The Sunny King is not a tournament borne elsewhere; it started in Anniston, blossomed in Anniston and today raises six-figure charitable totals year after year after year. That it has survived fairly well during the Great Recession is another sign of its strength.
In that sense, the golf is a pleasant sideshow, especially for the hundreds of golfers whose scores were far down the leader board.
“We would have been real happy with matching what we did last year (charity-wise),” Sunny King tournament committee member Hank Smith told The Star. “... To exceed it was a good surprise.”
In the coming months, Sunny King organizers will face the same predicament that always afflicts the successful — how to improve something that’s already heralded for its worthiness.
We could suggest all sorts of golf-related ideas: One that’s intriguing would be offering team slots to the best golfers at Calhoun County’s high schools. Those invitations, at no charge, could help grow the next generation’s interest in this wonderful local tournament.
As for suggestions for raising money for charity, the Sunny King seems to have those ideas down pat. We’ll expect nothing less next year, as well.
