On Monday September 18, 2023, the 2nd Annual Gerstell Academy Alumni Golf Tournament kicked off at Piney Branch Golf Course in Hampstead, Maryland. After a light lunch, sixty six golfers hit the links, under partly cloudy skies, with a soft breeze blowing. The shotgun start began at 1:00 pm with golfers ranging in age from 15 years old to eighty-one. Alumni, parents of Alumni, parents, grandparents, faculty, students and friends all joined in the fun! Our tournament this year was sponsored by local businesses such as: JFR Holdings, Reliable Technology services, JW and Son, Inc., Eline Funeral Home, Atlas Restaurant Group, Dane Spealman – State Farm Insurance, Drago Bands, Petals, Flowers and Gifts, Shari Hodges – ReMax Realty, Gerstell Academy Board of Trustees, East Coast Poured Floors, Best Care Luxury Assisted Living, and Eline Monuments.

The tournament ended under sunny skies and was followed by a dinner and awards ceremony. The first-Place foursome this year at 18 under par, consisted of Connor Eline ‘12, Steve Eline, Ben Lukehart and Mike Stokes. Awards were also given for closest to the pin on holes # 7 and #16. The winners of these prizes were Luke Gardner ’16, and Lenny Giller. The longest drive prize for hole #18 went to Chris Bowen. Added this year was a chipping and a putting contest. Both of these contests were tied at the end of the day and went to a playoff. Congratulations to Connor Eline ’12 (chipping) and Rick Santoni (putting).

We would like to express our appreciation to Ms. Emily Murphy and Mr. Jeff Zachman from Piney Branch for their assistance in helping to plan and run this event. Special thank you go to our Alumni moms – Mrs. Shari Hodges, Mrs. Janine Wilson and Mrs. Lisa Eline, who shared their time with us on Monday and ran the putting and chipping contests, as well as drove our beverage cart on the course for the day. Connor Eline ’12, Nick Wilson ’15 and Jacob Betz ’15 planned and organized the event for the second year – Thank you guys! The final and most important thank you goes to all our golfers who shared the day with us!

Stay tuned for a Save the Date for the third Annual Gerstell Alumni Golf Tournament and Dinner!