The sport venue and event management (SVEM) graduate program in is hosting a charity golf tournament to benefit Vera House on May 7 at Drumlins Country Club, beginning at noon. Monies raised will support Vera House’s comprehensive domestic and sexual violence programs. The goal of the event is to raise $20,000—while raising awareness—for Vera House.
Otto and golfers getting ready for the tournament in 2017.
The Third Annual Sport Venue and Event Management Golf Classicincludes 18 holes of golf, lunch and a dinner reception for the $150 entry fee. For those interested in attending the reception, only, $45 tickets are available. This year, the event will also offer a special $25 student ticket to the reception. The reception-only tickets include dinner, raffles, entertainment, a silent auction to benefit Vera House and remarks by former U.S. Women’s National Soccer Player Jillian Loyden, who created a foundation after losing her sister to domestic violence.
“This has been a great experience and I am honored to be a part of this event and support Vera House and the great work they do,” says SVEM graduate student Jessica LaRoussa. “We are really excited for the new additions to the event as well as an amazing keynote speaker.”
The execution of the tournament is part of the sport venue and event management curriculum that requires students to organize an event to gain a direct, hands-on learning experience working in all facets of the sports industry. To date, their efforts have included selecting the community partner, course operations, marketing, hospitality, fundraising and sponsorships.
While students planning the tournament are currently enrolled in SPM 665, Advanced Event Management, taught by Associate Professor Gina Pauline, who also serves as undergraduate program director in sport management, the students begin thinking about the tournament in an event management course taught the previous summer. Students’ efforts were then tied into a Fall 2017 sport marketing course taught by Associate Professor of Sport Management Patrick Walsh, where students focused on marketing, sponsorship, public relations and operations. Their activities included market research and review of the previous year’s event, which resulted in the marketing plan being used for the golf tournament.
This event deliberately connects event management courses, including experiential learning opportunities, with social responsibility, which is a hallmark of all academic programs across Falk College. During March,the students and many others at ϲ joined thousands throughout Central New York wearing a white ribbon or white wristband to raise awareness about domestic and sexual violence as part of the annual White Ribbon Campaign.
“The students have gained so much experience in all facets of event planning while understanding the need for themselves and their peers to go outside of the confines of a classroom and serve as an advocate to end domestic and sexual violence,” says Pauline. “While they came into this course focused on planning an event, it has turned into so much more as they now understand social responsibility. Vera House has been a tremendous organization to partner with this semester. The impact this project has left on each and every one of them professionally and personally is tremendous.”
For more information about the event, including sponsorship and donation of auction items, contact Pauline via email at gapaulin@syr.edu. Details are also available at .
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