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Driving out poverty - The RCI Christel House Open International Charity Golf Tournament 2017 Europe Round up

To all our wonderful sponsors, supporters and players!

Another memorable RCI Christel House Open has been and gone, and thanks again to your unwavering generosity and commitment, the European tournament raised close to a total of £60,000 in this its 15th Anniversary year.

All at Christel House are enormously grateful, including founder, Christel DeHaan who sends her personal thanks:
“As Maya Angelou said “If you’re going to live, leave a legacy. Make a mark on the world that can’t be erased.” Not only have you, our supporters, donors and friends, been doing that in the context of your professional and personal lives, but now you are also making your mark on Christel House. I want to personally thank you all for giving in so many ways this anniversary year. The results achieved by our kids in overcoming poverty have been impressive. Some of our students are now college graduates working for prestigious international companies. Others are preparing for technical and vocational careers. Thank you for helping us break the cycle of poverty. Our kids are living proof that Christel House works. To you all, our players, our guests, our many sponsors around the world, and our Title Sponsor RCI and Signature Sponsor in Europe, Nexus Leisure, I yet again send my deepest appreciation”.

Our 15th Anniversary tournament couldn’t boast cloudless skies this year, but it was nonetheless a wonderful day, with beautiful Badgemore Park once again the setting. Adding a dash of celebrity pizzazz was Greg Searle, British Olympic rower and gold medallist. Greg joined Silverpoint as a team member, undoubtedly helping inspire their first-place win, no mean feat with 18 teams playing this year. In second place was RCI Team 2, and in third, Azure All Stars – congratulations to them all!

The new informal ‘off-the course’ format ended the day in relaxed mode, with al fresco drinks, Gourmet BBQ, Award  Ceremony,  Raffle and Silent  Auction. Sincere thanks yet again to Brian McCarthy of Nexus Leisure, for very kindly taking photos throughout, as well as some video footage. Thanks too to Diana Aitchison who also chipped in with her own selection of snaps. The official photo album of the 2017 event can be found here and the video footage here.

If a little nostalgia is needed, a ‘Trip down Memory Lane’ photo album is available to view here. Please feel free to add comments!

Full team and individual results can be found at: Game TV Leaderboard: here. Sincere thanks to Clarion Golf, who again supplied the Golf GameBook live scoring system and managed the Tournament with their usual efficiency. Of course, none of this would be possible without those of you who so generously sponsored, donated items for the auction/raffle, bought raffle tickets or auction items, or otherwise contibuted to make the day such a fundraising success. With 100% of net funds going to the children in the schools in India and South Africa, your generous support is making a huge difference!

Hole Sponsors – Cabrera Rodriguez, Cameron Lodges, Club El Beril, Connex Group, Costafield, Diana Aitchison (National Hole-in-One), Eivind Steffenson, Enduria Travel, Eugene Miskelly, Flagship Consulting, Gleneagles, Grancanaria Urlaubs-Service Gmbh, Harry Taylor, HMC Funding, Jarryd Graber, Kwikchex, Macdonald Hotels & Resorts, My Lawyer In Spain, OK Marketing, Patrick Ingram, RDO, Regency Resorts, Resort Fiduciary Services, Resort Solutions, Richard McIntosh, Richvale Resorts, Santiago Martin, Tropical Park, VO Associates Ltd.

And of course, a big thank you  goes to these generous donors who gave  some wonderful Prizes for the Auction and the Raffle. Prizes were donated by: Badgemore Park, Barclays Bank, Bedford College, Cameron Lodges, Christel House Bangalore, Christel House South Africa, Clarion, Cottages.Com, DAE, Dartington Crystal, Dunning Golf Club (Bill Kettles), Elton Furze Golf Club (Fred Mullenger), Four Seasons Vilamoura, The Fulwell Golf Club (Neil Jennings), Gleneages, Golf Las Americas, Hays Recruitment, Hilton Grand Vacations, ICE, Interval International, Karma Group, Lord St John Of Bletso, Lorenzo Rastelli, MannBennHam, RCI, Resort Solutions, Silverpoint, Sunrise Management Services, Whittlebury Park Golf & Country Club (Sue Colby).

We look forward to seeing you all next year – please save the date, 11th June 2018 – more details soon! Thank you so much for your support from Title Sponsors RCI Europe and Christel House Europe.


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