Overwhelming support poured in for Cappo's Casual Dining Charity Golf Outing at the Brassie Golf Course in Chesterton this past Monday, August 9, 2010. Many people from Portage and the surrounding area came with a big smile, a leap in their step and a heavy bag of golf clubs to support Northshore Health Centers, which provides access to underinsured or uninsured patients regardless of ability to pay. Len Schmidt, Director of Business Development at Northshore, said, "The reason I'm with Northshore [is] I truly believe in their cause of helping people who are underinsured or don't have any insurance." Northshore provides dental, urgent care and regular care to around 7,000 patients a month. Ken Elwood of Rhame and Elwood Attorneys at Law is a supporter of Northshore and explained that since its inception in 1996, it has grown from a $96,000 budget to almost $15 million. "Northshore has filled a very significant void in healthcare [in our community]," said Elwood.
Of course, the cause was to support Northshore Health Centers, but a lot of people I talked with said that the main reason they came out to the golf outing was to support Dolly Cummins, Owner of Cappo's Casual Dining, who was hosting the event. "We'll support Dolly and whatever group she's in," explained Dan Vida, a participant in the golf outing. Cummins runs Cappo's Monday through Saturday for lunch and dinner specializing in pizza, fried chicken and barbecue ribs. Don't be mistaken though; it's not fast food. "It's a friendly, warm atmosphere, and we love serving people," said Cummins.
Registration time for the outing was at 9 am, and it felt like a family reunion with people arriving and greeting each other, laughing and just having a good time. Golfers had a quick breakfast ready for them and many people bought raffle tickets for select prizes to further support the cause. Golfers took off in their carts right around 10 am and began teeing off right before a heavy rain fell briefly. Prizes were also awarded for Hole in One (trip for two to Hawaii on one hole and a Camero on another) as well as others such as longest drive and longest putt.
To see more photos from the golf outing, click here.
To see a video from this fun event, click here.