By KATHRYN FRASER

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

On Aug. 4, Cassie's Place hosted its fourth annual golf tournament held at Glen Eagle Golf Club in Bolton.

This event supports programs for individuals with disabilities offered at Cassie's House throughout the year.  

The gold tournament featured several activities, from a barbecue to an 18-hole course. The night ended with a special dinner and a chance to win awards and other prizes for all attendees.

Joe Sassine, the director of Cassie's House, is proud to see how the community has come out to support the event and that the number of participants has grown quite a bit over the years.

Both golf experts and newly interested players were able to attend and register a team to compete for awards at the end of the evening.

Setting off to the course at 1 p.m., members of Cassie's Place cheered and waved to players as they ventured off on golf carts.

Tournament participants spent the next few hours playing golf until they returned to the clubhouse to hand in their scorecards and prepare for the dinner and award ceremony.

Rocky Punia, a local realtor, has been sponsoring and attending the event for the last few years.

Prior to becoming a realtor, Punia was a special education teacher and feels a special connection to Cassie's Place, which made her want to get involved.

“What they do and the programs that Cassie's Place does is amazing stuff,” says Punia. “We want to be a part of it, we want to raise funds, we want to be able to sponsor and donate funds wherever we can.”

Having been to a few of these events, Punia says it's wonderful to see more and more people attend each year.

“It's great to see that the community is coming together. Seeing it grow year after year, people with generous hearts contributing and coming together for a cause that means a lot in the community,” says Punia.

Throughout the dinner, there were special appearances from members of Caledon council as well as Mayor Anette Groves, who showed support for the event.

Towards the end of the night,, awards were given to many attendees, including first- and second-place awards for best scores, most honest team, hole-in-one, and many others.

In addition, the event held a 50/50 draw, giving participants the chance to purchase a ticket for a chance to win money, as well as a separate raffle offering an Apple Watch Series 11.

Reflecting and looking back on the event, Sassine is elated to see the community come together to support Cassie's Place and that there will be more events to come. 

Sassine said they look forward to hosting the golf tournament again next year.

To find more information about Cassie's Place, please visit cassiesplace.ca