The 13th annual Soboba Foundation & Soboba Casino Resort Charity Golf Tournament was a sold-out event held April 7-9 at the Soboba Springs Golf Course. Every day of the three-day tournament drew more than 150 players to the beautiful, lush course followed by an afternoon of great food, fun, and prizes.
Each year, deserving nonprofit organizations benefit from the tremendous outpouring of support shown for the tournament. After completing the application process that included a video presentation of why they should be chosen, ten were selected by the Soboba Foundation board members to receive $10,000 each.
But they are not just given a check – they are required to volunteer their time at the tournament itself and are assigned certain tasks. Volunteers play a key role in making sure that all participants enjoy themselves from the time they check in until they leave at the end of the day.
Sponsorship Coordinator Andrew Vallejos hosted an orientation for the nonprofit representatives about 10 days prior to the event to make sure everyone was on the same page and knew what was expected. Volunteer Coordinators Tara and Joseph Placencia were also there to answer any questions about what volunteers needed to do on the day they were assigned to help.
There were six holes that offered “Fairway Frenzy Games” where players could try their hand at winning additional prizes if they got the best score of the day among all the golfers that passed through. Volunteers from the various nonprofits were stationed at these holes to oversee the game play and record the names and scores of each participant. Most of the games were set up adjacent to vendors offering snacks, drinks, food and/or swag, which enticed the golfers to take a break from the greens and interact with the nonprofits that were there.
Each of the course games were explained at the orientation so that information could be shared with their group’s volunteers. This definitely helped the event go smoothly.
Aside from the ones representing the nonprofits, there are other volunteers who are always eager to help. Tara said, “Our main recruits have been the Placencia family, Maria Vivanco and Sierra Mendez; mostly Tribal members.”
Tara, who is married to Soboba Tribal member Patrick Placencia, has been volunteering her time at the event for the past 10 years. She got involved when her husband was on the Soboba Foundation board. She started with registration but that expanded into other areas. She and her nephew Joseph have overseen the volunteers for about three years. They coordinate assigning duties to each organization to be sure all positions are well covered. Tara also traverses the course in a golf cart to make sure all the vendors and volunteers stationed at several of the holes have what they need.
“I love this tournament, and this year went pretty smoothly,” she said. “I love getting to know the team members that work so hard for the Tribe. Everyone worked very hard to make this a successful event. I thank Andrew and the Soboba Foundation for letting me be a part of it.”
The 10 beneficiaries from this year’s charity golf tournament are Boxing for Christ, Care-A-Van Transit Systems Inc., Friends of Valley-Wide Foundation, Haven Pet Center, Hemet Youth Wrestling Club, Inter-Tribal Sports, My City Youth, Oak Grove Institute Foundation, San Jacinto Unified School District’s Rose Salgado Elementary School and Valley Community Pantry.
This year, the groups were assigned a specific day to provide several volunteers to also help with vendor check-in, greet guests to the banquet and other tasks throughout the day that started at 6 a.m. with the arrival of vendors. Several groups had enough volunteers to split them into shifts for the 12-hour day that ended at 3 p.m. at the golf course and then continued at the Soboba Casino Resort Event Center until after 6 p.m.
Tribal Council member Michael Bentiste said, “The whole team does an awesome job on the organization of this event each year – it is top notch.”
DJ Mike Nevarez energized the players in the morning with his tunes emanating from the outdoor loudspeakers. He continued the entertainment at the banquet each night.
“I figure everyone comes ready to party, so I play something for everyone,” he said, adding that this is the third year he has provided music and announcement services for the charity golf tournament.
Prior to the 10 a.m. shotgun start of the scramble style play, Soboba Tribal Council Chairman Isaiah Vivanco thanked all the participants for their support before introducing other members of the Council and the Soboba Foundation to the crowd who were seated in their golf carts, ready to roll.
“I also want to thank Andrew Vallejos and his team for making sure this goes off without a hitch each year,” he said.
Soboba Casino Resort General Manager and Tournament Director Jason Cozart welcomed everyone to the event and gave a rundown of how the day would proceed. He then invited everyone to attend the much-anticipated banquet each night
“I felt the tournament was a resounding success,” Soboba Tribal member Cozart said. “It brought together brothers and sisters from Tribes near and far, as well as partners of the Soboba Band. Together we supported many deserving charities and furthered the common goal of giving back to the communities that mean so much to the Soboba Foundation, Soboba Casino Resort, and the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians as a whole.”
