Mike SciaccaWarm temperatures and a good cause...

Mike Sciacca

Warm temperatures and a good cause were the right combination for the

success of Friends in Service to Humanity’s fifth annual Homeless and

Hunger Prevention Charity Golf Classic Monday at SeaCliff Country

Club.

In its fifth consecutive year, the Friends in Service to Humanity

held its most successful charity event yet.

Each year the golf tournament has grown. Monday’s tournament drew

a confirmed 108 golfers -- the largest in the tournament’s history --

topping the previous record of 102 set in 2002.

“And we hope it continues to grow over the next few years,” said

Huntington Beach resident Bill Walters, a FISH board member who

golfed Monday’s event. “That is our hope.”

Thirteen sponsors were out on the golf course Monday, but the most

popular tent was BJ’s Restaurant and Brewery, which was handing out

free brews. The day of golf also included a barbecue lunch, raffle

and both silent and live auctions, golf contests, such as closest to

the pin, putting, designating long driver and hole in one cars, and a

banquet dinner closing out the event.

The tournament had an individual team format.

The 2002 tournament set a record in grossing nearly $50,000 with a

net of $30,000, said Wendy Ingham, fund developer for the FISH.

She said that this year’s event hoped to gross up to $60,000, with

a net of about $40,000.

“Finally, with this golf tournament at SeaCliff, we had a

significant fund-raiser that made money,” she said. “Since I’ve been

on this board I have watched what started as a small tournament

definitely grow in stature.”

Friends in Service to Humanity was started in 1968 by Newport

Beach resident Shirley Watts in an effort to feed the local need of

service and assistance to needy families.

A United Way organization, FISH has a mission to give direct

assistance to people in need and to prevent homelessness.

“The organization really is about helping those in need get on

their feet and try to make them independent again,” said Walters, the

chief financial officer at FISH and a retired CPA.

Walters, a Huntington Beach resident for 33 years, oversees the

organization’s budget and reviews monthly finances. When he began

working with FISH four years ago, the organization’s budget, he said,

was $400,000.

Today, it stands at $1.2 million.

“The needs are growing and luckily, our resources have been

growing along with those needs,” he said. “We stage various

fund-raisers and this charity golf tournament is our biggest event in

terms of funds raised.

“We are always looking for new volunteers and board members to

help out with this worthy organization. Any, and all, are welcome.”

Dana Timmermans, in his sixth week as executive director at FISH,

credited board members and volunteers -- some 500 strong -- for the

continued success of the organization.

“They have done such a tremendous job in helping to keep with the

organization’s vision,” he said. “We hope to always be ready where

there is a need.”

* MIKE SCIACCA covers sports and features. He can be reached at

(714) 965-7171 or by e-mail at michael.sciacca@latimes.com.