The 14th Annual Musicians Foundation Fall Classic, GOLFIESTA!, took place Sept. 21, 2015, at Robinson Ranch in Santa Clarita.
A festive mariachi band led by Fred Herrera greeted golfers as they filtered over to the registration table. In an exciting start to the day, after sinking two 15-foot putts in the Putting Contest, Jory Potts was the sole golfer to win a chance to take part in the $10,000 putt attempt. She hit the flag, just missing the hole!
After the contest, golfers broke into their teams and enjoyed a full day on the Valley Course. Guitarist Ron Hershewe serenaded guests during lunch, and our beloved “Two Trumpeters on the Green” Jack Coan and Jerry Kadovitz once again provided comic relief providing musical commentary on golfers’ drives.
The FIESTA continued into the night for more live music, a hosted bar and dinner banquet, silent auction, raffle drawing, and awards ceremony. Attendees bid on a table full of coveted silent auction items, including a “Star Wars” main title score signed by composer John Williams and an “Inside Out” movie poster and “Jurassic World” CD score soundtracks signed by composer Michael Giacchino.
Latin jazz band LA Mambo fired things up and got everyone swinging during the banquet. The hot music from leader Bobby Chávez and musicians Gary Herbig, Tony Garcia, Chris Haller, Anthony Escoto, Dan Lopez, and Satoshi Kirisawa inspired Local 47 President John Acosta to join them on stage to don some festive garb and do some dancing! Vice President Rick Baptist took a turn belting out a few high notes on Bobby’s trumpet, and surprised us all by showing off his impressive grito skills! “Aaaayyyyeeee!”
Tournament Coordinator Philip Di Nova then announced the winners of the tournament. Taking first place in Flight A were Toyota of Hollywood team Bob Latimore, Fred Simon, Wally Goodrick, and Don Muchin. First place Flight B winners were Local 47 member Ian Freebain-Smith and Gingold & Company’s Kirk Prestegard and David Ahdoot.
Foundation President Hal Espinosa thanked all of this year’s sponsors, several of which have been supporting us since the very beginning. We are grateful for the support of the following generous sponsors: PacFed Benefit Administrators, BDO, Marc & Eva Stern Foundation, Bernard Kotkin & Co. LLP, California United Bank, JP Morgan Asset Management, Musicians’ Interguild Credit Union, Lexus of Valencia, Toyota of Hollywood, Ullico Insurance, Buchalter Nemer, Delta Dental, Film Musicians Secondary Markets Fund, Gingold & Company, Harman Press, HealthNet, Kaiser Permanente, McMorgan & Company, Moondance Music, MusiCares, United Agencies, Gateway Funding/Finance of America, Anheuser Busch, and Wolf Creek Restaurant. Thanks also to all of the golfers and our volunteers who helped make this year’s tournament a great success.
All proceeds from the annual fundraiser benefit the Musicians Foundation of Los Angeles, a nonprofit assistance fund that provides a resource to help musicians in financial distress and cannot work due to a sudden illness or injury. The Foundation also sponsors free live music events throughout Los Angeles. We look forward to seeing you all at next year’s Fall Classic!
