The 16th Annual TAMGT took place on June 13, 2012 at the Blackledge Country Club in Hebron, Connecticut. Todd Abitz was a husband, father and member of Congregation Bnai Israel when he passed away suddenly on January 23, 2001 at the age of 34. A few years earlier, he and a few friends at Congregation Bnai Israel had started a charity golf tournament to benefit Mazon - A Jewish Response to Hunger. To commemorate the outstanding individual he was, his friends at Congregation Bnai Israel renamed the Todd Abitz Memorial Golf Tournament and rededicated it to raising money for his family. With the merger of Congregation Bnai Israel and Temple Beth Sholom, the newly formed BSBI Brotherhood assumed leadership of the Tournament.

When Todd's children no longer needed the support of the Tournament, a decision had to be made whether to continue it and, if so, in what form. Todd’s widow suggested the Tournament return to Todd’s original vision of feeding the hungry. By partnering with HVCC and MACC Charities, the Tournament gained a new focus and much needed resources in manpower and community connections. HVCC and MACC Charities are the major local social service providers in our area. They are in desperate need of financial support. Our partnership with them not only raises the profile of our Brotherhood in the community, but also introduces our members and the people who attend the Tournament to these organizations, the good works they do, and additional opportunities to support them.

In 2012, the BSBI Brotherhood had approximately 40 members; it takes that many volunteers to run a successful golf tournament, let alone golf in it. The three co-chairs from the BSBI Brotherhood, together with another half dozen Brotherhood members and a representative of each of our partners, organized the Tournament, supplemented on the day of the Tournament by volunteers from all three organizations. Pulling off the Tournament involves leadership from the co-chairs in taking on and delegating tasks, innovation from all members of the Committee in how to raise and save money, and builds important bridges to the community in which we live.

The Tournament was publicized within BSBI by the Brotherhood. Both HVCC and MACC Charities publicized the event through their members and contact lists. We also had items printed in local papers and on-line community forums, and distributed flyers to family, friends and acquaintances.

We put on a Kosher event, which presents challenges as most golf venues run their own non-kosher banqueting services. In 2012, we switched venues and were able to contract with a high quality country club that allowed us to bring in a Kosher caterer. The event was monitored by our Temple's clergy. BSBI had a bit over 300 member families, and we encourage members who are not golfers or volunteers to attend the dinner, and enjoy the raffle, auction and speaker.

In 2012, the Tournament had over 125 separate sponsors at various levels. We had over 100 golfers, despite less than desirable weather conditions. The golfers enjoyed the course, as well as the various contests throughout the day. A Brotherhood member took photos of each foursome on the course and throughout the day. Chris Dailey, the Associate Head Coach of the University of Connecticut Women's Basketball Team, addressed the attendees with humorous and inspiring stories. In addition to the price of participation and the money raised through sponsors, we raised money the day of the Tournament through the raffle, auction and games. Both the opening meal and the buffet dinner were superb and enjoyed by all.

We held a wrap up meeting a month or so after the Tournament to review the results, assess all elements of the event, and start initial discussion for the 2013 event.

In 2012, we were successful in raising over $13,000 from the Tournament, which was divided 3 ways among the participating organizations. In addition to raising the funds for our partner organizations, the BSBI Brotherhood uses funds from this event, which is our major annual fund raiser, to support other community organizations, such as an additional food bank in a neighboring town, MARC, Inc. (which funds community involvement for people with disabilities) and Operation Music Aid (which secures musical instruments for disabled soldiers), as well as Mazon and our Temple.