The 12th annual American Ireland Fund Philadelphia Golf Classic took place on Monday, September 9th at Philadelphia Country Club. The perfect weather conditions provided our loyal supporters with the opportunity to go out and play their best golf, while raising significant support for the Promising Ireland Campaign to assist Irish charities.
Honoree, Fran Van Kirk arrived bright and early to welcome friends, clients and guests to the outing and invited them to enjoy lunch served outside on the terrace overlooking the 10th hole while other golfers warmed up on the driving range and the practice green.
Out on the challenging course, the supporters had two opportunities to try their luck at our hole-in-one contest, sponsored by Jameson. The winner would receive a VIP trip to Ireland, however, no golfer even got close on the day (maybe next year).
The golfers started to come off the course around 5pm and the cocktail reception with silent auction began.
The cocktails were followed by dinner and a greeting from Worldwide Ireland Funds President & CEO, Kieran McLoughlin, who thanked our presenting sponsor, Michael Gallagher and Pepper Hamilton LLP. He then introduced Fran Van Kirk and presented him with The American Ireland Fund Leadership Award.
Fran delivered a brief yet heartfelt speech about his involvement with The American Ireland Fund and how the Fund enables him to reconnect to his heritage in a meaningful way by giving back to Ireland.
The evening concluded with a live auction that included a golf trip to Ireland to play the Arnold Palmer Course at the K Club and the links at Doonbeg. We also auctioned off a VIP experience at the upcoming Philadelphia Eagles vs. NY Giants game.
Congratulations to the overall winning foursome of Jason Early, Chris Fallon, Pat Mulvin and Dave Gaunt.
Special thanks to our sponsors including: Pepper Hamilton LLP, Heidrick and Struggles, Exeter Property Group, The John Rooney Family and Hayden Real Estate Investments.
We look forward to seeing our supporters at our other local events and of course at next year’s 13th annual Philadelphia Golf Classic on September, 2014.
