Registration for ERC5’s golf tournament begins at 9 a.m., followed by a 10 a.m. tee-off.
Photo credit: Michael Epaul Photography
SOUTH HADLEY — The East of the River Five Town Chamber of Commerce is teeing up for its annual golf tournament to help award eight students from East Longmeadow, Longmeadow, Hampden, Wilbraham and Ludlow with $16,000 in scholarships.
The full 18-hole tournament is on Sept. 28 at South Hadley’s Ledges Golf Club, 18 Mulligan Drive. Registration for golfers begins at 9 a.m. and tee-off is scheduled for 10 a.m.
Non-golfers can watch the tournament and attend a reception afterward for $20 a member. Food will be served and the tournament winners will be announced.
ERC5 is an East Longmeadow-based organization that promotes an environment of fostering the five towns’ economic growth through the creation and expansion of businesses and jobs. The tournament is the organization’s largest contributing event to the ERC5 Scholarship Fund.
The scholarship promotes higher education attainment for two graduating seniors from each town. Applicants must have completed one business-focused class during high school and must be planning to attend an accredited college, technical school or certification program.
Awardees are picked based on academic performance, school extracurriculars, work experience and school activities like sports, music or the arts.
ERC5 Executive Director Grace Barone said the organization raised the scholarship amount to $2,000 per student last year and is very excited to be able to give out $16,000.
“This is something that’s good for our students, their families and it supports the community,” Barone said. “It also benefits our business because these may be future CEOs, leaders for companies that are already established here in our area. It’s a way of supporting the pipeline for businesses.”
She said the tournament will kick off with a light breakfast, provided by Tandem Bagel Company, before the golfers get registered and out onto the course.
“It’s a day of fun and adventure out on the links,” Barone said. “We’ve got some snack tents, we have some contests. It’s just a fun day. At the end of the day, we head back to the clubhouse as the golf pros figure out who our winners are. We announce our first, second and third place winners. It’s hot dogs and hamburgers, fun times barbecuing, sharing stories … it’s just a great way for everybody to get together.”
Barone added the tournament sees a diverse player group of all ages and the organization tries to bring more people in each year.
“I’m excited to say when I joined the chamber five years ago, we maybe had three or four females golfing,” Barone said. “We now have a good amount of female golfers and they are pretty spectacular and we have all female teams so I’m very excited about that.”
Barone said the event is full of camaraderie and encourages the public to attend the reception. She also thanks all the sponsors, golfers and volunteers who make the tournament a success.
She said “their support is invaluable.”
Reception registration can be found at business.erc5.com/events/details/erc5-annual-golf-tournament-5291.
Students can find forms for the $2,000 scholarship at erc5.com/erc5-scholarship/. Applications must be typed and complete for consideration are due by March 12, 2027 and can be returned to the ERC5 offices, 280 North Main St., Suite 10, or by email to gbarone@erc5.com.
