2004 Celebrity Golf & Tennis Classic
The 2004 Celebrity Golf and Tennis Classic met and exceeded all expectations, surpassing last year’s record by raising over $250,000. Proceeds will benefit Thunder Road, a life-changing recovery program for youth and their families as well as other programs and services the Medical Center provides to the people of the communities it serves. Over 1,200 participants and spectators attended the two events.
Golfers enjoyed perfect weather at the Diablo Country Club on September 13. Celebrity golfers included Diane Dwyer, weekend anchor and reporter for NBC 11 News, and Vida Blue, Jimmy Johnson and Jim Davenport were on hand from the sports world. The tournament was capped off with a dinner and awards ceremony hosted by nationally known comedian Bob Sarlatte. The event’s big winners in the low gross category were the foursome of Pat Young, Jerry Bridges, Jack McAboy and Bill Kramer. Tom Wilson sunk the ball to win the putting contest, and Jerry Zavagno and Laura Barrera were the longest drive winners. A special prize was awarded for the best-dressed foursome to Drs. Donald and David Townsend, Mrs. Gwen Townsend and Dr. Michael Ranahan, and the raffle prize winners were Jerry Sappington, Todd Bender and Joe Barker.
A great day of competition was served up for the tennis tournament as well. A record number of community members turned out on September 18th to the Berkeley Tennis Club to watch sports, media and entertainment celebrities battle on the courts. The event highlight was an exhibition match featuring tennis legends Jim Courier and John Lloyd.
Other celebrity players included Donal Logue of the WB sitcom "Grounded for Life"; former "People's Court" star Judge Joseph Wapner; Gabrielle Carteris from the television show "Beverly Hills: 90210"; and reality stars Tina Wesson from "Survivor 2: The Australian Outback," Alex Michel from "The Bachelor," and Nick Warnock from "The Apprentice." Media celebrities included Mike Shumann, sports anchor for the ABC7 Weekend News; Ken Garcia, City Columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle; and Lloyd LaCuesta, South Bay Bureau Chief for KTVU Fox 2 News. Sports stars included Mike Davis, John Lambert and Bill Laskey. Kirk Fox and David Weiland were the winners of the "A" category in the tennis tournament. Kevin Maas and Dr. Bob Greene were the winning team in the "B" category, and Randy Shandobil and Lauren Dominguez won in the "C" category. Raffle winners were Akida Hightower, Jane Whitfield, and Dave Larson. The event was followed by a black-tie Paris-themed gala at the Claremont Resort that featured a reception, silent and live auctions, and entertainment from award-winning comedian Johnny Steele.
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