2021 Recap

—By Pete Hardenstine— Mother Nature turned off the hose she’s used to inundate the area long enough on Saturday, July 17, for the Jim Huffman Green and Gold Ride to Washington Golf Classic at Tall Pines Players Club to complete play. A record field of 30 teams—32 had registered for the tournament—enjoyed a day of camaraderie on the par-70 layout east of Friendsville while raising a record $28,250 for the annual Wyalusing Valley Elementary’s sixth-grade trip to Washington, D.C. In a pre-tournament release, it was stated that the cost of the trip runs approximately $32,000 per year. The Huffman Classic, as it is now known, started in 2008 by the Wyalusing Area Education Foundation to help raise funds for the sixth-grade trip. It was renamed in 2019 to honor the late Jim Huffman, who was a driving force to create the Washington, D.C. excursion when he was a teacher at the elementary school. Huffman was tragically killed in a tractor accident in 2018. Huffman’s youngest daughter Karlye and her fiancé Eli Bennett were volunteers at No. 10 green Saturday where a manikin displayed a Wyalusing football jersey bearing the number 10 he wore as a quarterback for the Rams. Team PTW, including Mario Alvarez, Trisha Nawrocki, Mike Shelhamer and Joe Murray, took champion flight honors with a score of 56. Team Smile-a-While—Ron Coates, Jennifer Moore, Dustin Moore and Steve Ciprich—was second with a score of 60. Team Moss with George Moss, Frank Moss, Craig Richter and Scotty Salsman was third with a score of 61. The Susquehanna Valley Construction Corporation squad—Duane Vanderpool, Keith Howard and others—was the first flight winner with a 64. Team CHOP—Chad Ruhf, Randy Hugo and Nick Montoro—was next, also with a 64. Team Naugle—Duane Naugle, Brian Wilson, Brody Fuhrey and Sonya Adams—shot 64 to finish third in the flight. Team Warner, including Donnie Warner, Derreck Otis and Greg Lent, led the second flight with a score of 68. Also shooting 68 to finish second in the flight was Team Price/Logan—Paul and Kenya Price and Cody and Katie Logan. The Skins winners—The Kilmer Group on No. 1 and PTW on No. 5—both donated their winnings back to the foundation. Ralph Newton also donated back his $750 winnings from the 50/50 drawing. The longest drive winners—Joe Murray and Katie Logan—each received putters. Ron Coates was closest to the hole on No. 12, claiming a cooler filled with meat. Craig Richter took home a Penn State golf bag and extras for being closest to the hole on No. 16. Richter also won the putting contest, receiving a set of cornhole boards decorated with the Huffman Classic logo. Event sponsors for the tournament included Fenton Welding & Transport; The Kilmer Group; B&K Equipment; Wyalusing Elementary PTO; Tuscarora-Wayne and the Kenneth and Caroline Taylor Family Foundation. Corporate sponsors were Smile-a-While Ice Cream; Stagecoach Transport & Crushing; Wyalusing Valley Children’s Center; R.L. Campbell Contracting; Tony Bennett Flagstone; Arrow Surveying; PTW; Community Bank; Sheldon Funeral Homes; Susquehanna Valley Construction; Rhodes Taxidermy; Shorty’s Cuts and Visions Federal Credit Union. Hole sponsors included Tewksbury Contracting; Barn Door Painting & Embroidery; Thompson Pest Control; Millard Excavation & Demolition; Trowbridge & Co. Wealth Management Group; Bear Back Brooke; Kipp Automotive; LaRae’s; Farm & Home Plaza; The Stevens Family (Bob, Jill, Abbie and Rick); Cornerstone Landscape Construction; Michelle Kathleen Photography; Rovendale Ag & Barn; Fastenal; Edward Jones; American Sandwich Company; The Huffman Family; Powers Stone; Wilson Family (Brian, Tracey and Sydney); Wyalusing Area Education Association; Pivot Physical Therapy; NAPA Auto Parts; Wyalusing Collision and Scott McAllister Photography. Next year’s tournament is slated for Saturday, July 16. Results Team results from the Jim Huffman Green and Gold Ride to Washington Golf Classic held at Tall Pines Players Club in Friendsville on Saturday, July 17. 1. Team PTW 56; 2. Smile-a-While 60; 3. Team Moss 61; 4. Team Sheldon 62; 5. El Zorro Quarto 62; 6. D.C. Drivers 62; 7. Alyce’s Boys 62; 8. Arrow Surveying 62; 9. Team Salsman 63; 10. Petlock “Father” 63. 11. SVCC 64; 12. CHOP 64; 13. Team Naugle 64; 14. R.L. Campbell 66; 15. Team Rosenberry 66; 16. Browntown Bombers 66; 17. We Beat Coach Keyes 66; 18. Team Hunsinger 66; 19. Team Kilmer 66; 20. Wyalusing Valley Children’s Center 67. 21. Team Warner 68; 22. Team Price/Logan 68; 23. Shorty’s Cuts 69; 24. Team Oswald 70; 25. Team Fischer 73; 26. Fenton No. 1 74; 27. Sixth Grade Teachers 74; Team Petlock 74; 29. Taylor Family Foundation 75; 30. Fenton No. 2 75.