History
History of the Motor City Golf Classic
The Motor City Golf Classic has a rich and long history as a golf tradition in the Metro Detroit area. In early 2006, a former patient of the Department of Neurosurgery approached us, hoping to organize an annual golf event to support the Neurosurgery Department and its activities. The purpose of the Motor City Golf Classic Golf Event is to use the monies raised to fund and support various Department of Neurosurgery projects, ranging from basic laboratory research, to enhancing patient education, to community and patient outreach programs.
Motor City Golf Classic Executive Committee…
The Motor City Golf Classic Executive Committee is under the direction of three very capable volunteers - Harish Chawla, Bob Kunkel and Debbie Prasad – and three representatives from the Department of Neurosurgery – Don Tomford, Steve Napolitan, and Dr. William Chandler. This event is a “first rate” golf event, which will be held this year on Monday, August 17, 2009 at the Barton Hills Country Club in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Barton Hills features a beautiful Donald Ross designed course, and the club has previously hosted such prestigious golf events as the US Women’s Amateur Championship and the USGA Women’s Mid Amateur Golf Tournament.
We ask our golf event participants and sponsors to give their tax-exempt sponsor donations directly to the University of Michigan Department of Neurosurgery. No one associated in any way with this event has an office or takes a salary, and the organization has no overhead or ongoing operating costs. All who participate and volunteer are simply motivated to work together in order to “give back” to our community.
Grant Process…
In 2007, the Motor City Golf Classic Executive Committee developed a grant process in order to distribute funds received from the golf event. The grant process allows all persons employed in the Neurosurgery Department to apply for funds related to various projects and needs within the Department. Last year, the Motor City Golf Classic funded eleven different projects through this grant process. The Committee was excited and gratified by the variety of projects and the number of grant submissions. As always, the Committee uses some time during the golf awards dinner to present information on how golf event monies from the previous year were spent. The Motor City Golf Classic Executive Committee feels a tremendous obligation to keep generous sponsors and participants informed about how their generous contributions were spent.
