Protecting Tomorrow Today®
An Important Message From Our OPA Foundation Board of Directors
We are sorry to advise that we have had to cancel this year's Dave Gower Memorial Event. We held out as long as we could in making this decision, hoping that we would be able to see the light at the end of the COVD-19 tunnel, but as that path is not yet clear, we decided it was time to make this difficult call.
As you know, the OPA Foundation provides financial assistance to future parks professionals through their annual Scholarship & Bursary Awards Program. The Dave Gower Memorial Event is the Foundation's main fundraiser, providing the finances that fuel this very important program. Despite the fact that we have had to cancel our fundraiser, the Foundation Board of Directors have unanimously agreed to proceed with the awards program this year. "Growing Green Professionals" is the Foundation's tagline, so making the call to continue with the awards was an easy and obvious choice for us. We want to do our part to help students who may be impacted financially by COVID-19 to still afford to attend school this fall. We want to continue to do our part to ensure that our future is full of educated and driven green professionals who will help us continue to meet OPA's mandate of Protecting Tomorrow Today®!
Many of you have supported our fundraising efforts year after year by attending our Dave Gower Event, either as a golfer or a sponsor. For that we are extremely grateful! Although we will not be able to gather together to enjoy a day on the golf course this year, we are hoping that you might perhaps consider making a financial donation to the Foundation in lieu of the registration fee that you would otherwise have paid.
As a golfer you would typically receive a $40 donation receipt after the golf event, with the balance of your golf registration fee having gone toward the event expenses. As a sponsor your fee would have provided you a variety of different possible perks, one of them being recognition as a sponsor. To thank you for your financial support at this time, we will be issuing tax receipts for any donation over $20. We will also include your name/municipality name/company name in the Green Sward and on our website as a thank you for generously supporting our 2020 Awards Program.
If you would like to make a donation to the OPA Foundation, please email Shelley (shelley@ontarioparksassociation.ca) the following information:
We sincerely appreciate any financial contribution you could make to help offset the cost of the financial awards that will be distributed to deserving students this year. Every little bit helps, and will no doubt be gratefully received by our 2020 award recipients.
Thank you.
Vic Hergott Chair, OPA Foundation Board of Directors
