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To the editor:

On Thursday, June 25 The Villages of North Branch hosted The Annual Village Classic Charity Golf Tournament at the North Branch Golf Course. With great participation and a spirit of fun, this year's tournament raised over $8,000 for local seniors in need of housing, support services, long-term health care and short-term rehabilitation.

Thank you to our Champion Sponsors: Shopko and Lakes Regions EMS, Inc.; to our Eagle Sponsors: Kraus Anderson and Medina Electric; to our Birdie Sponsors: Pharmerica, Egan, Lion's Club of North Branch, County Market, and Jude Vending; to our Hole Sponsors: East Central Sanitation, Fairview Lakes Health Services, CMA IdeaCom, First State Bank of Wyoming, NorthStar Access, Minnco Credit Union, US Cable, Casey's General Store, Perreault Chiropractic, RehabCare, McKesson, and North Branch Outlets; and to our Par Individual Sponsors: CMA IdeaCom, Perreault Chiropractic, People's National Bank, McKesson, County Market, Cindy Hansen, Cookie and Gerald Fisher, Bruce Boxeth, Pat Joslin, Kelly and Alyssa Ramberg, Barb Mork, Barbara and Mikayla Hensch, Brad Johnson, Mary Cordts, Marvin "Swede" Nelson, Max Malmquist, Mike Leist, Greg Ackerman, Al Wallershine, Jack Juve, Eric Champion, Jonah Smith, and Jason Tatro.

Special thanks to the following individuals and organizations who donated prizes or contributed money towards the tournament: AmericInn-North Branch, Anderson Chiropractic Clinic, County Market, Culligan Water-Pine City, Denny's-North Branch, East Central Energy, Ecumen, Fairview Lakes Health Services, Grand Casino-Hinckley, Horizon Bank, Isanti-Chisago County Star, Minnesota Energy Resources, North Branch Golf Course, Perreault Chiropractic, Perry Ellis International, Brad Johnson with US Bank in Forest Lake, Skip Christenson's Central Motors, Voigt, Klegon & Rode, LLC, and Wild Mountain. This year's Hole-In-One Sponsor was Anderson Koch Ford.

Congratulations to People's National Bank team of Steve Vanden Heuvel, Eric Ness, and Robert and Mickie Klund for taking first place in the Mixed Team Division and to Kelly and Alyssa Ramberg, Barb Mork, and Barb and Mikayla Hensch for taking first place in the Women's Division; and to Max Malmquist, Swede Nelson, Jeff Benson of Pharmerica and Chris Yelle of Egan for taking first place in the Men's Division and for achieving the best overall score in the best-ball tournament. The County Market Longest Drive Contest, for the ladies was won by Alyssa Ramberg with 150 yards and for the men, Shaun Gercula of Medina Electric with 268 yards. The PGA season tickets went to Cindy Hanson. Being the highest bidder on the packages, means Cindy receives two tickets for all seven days of the 2009 PGA Championship. The 91st PGA Championship will be held at Hazeltine National Golf Club in August. The package was valued at $600.

I would also like to thank everyone involved in planning and orchestrating the tournament including many of the staff at The Villages and at Ecumen, The Villages' parent company. And to the community volunteers who helped ensure that the day went smoothly including Janelle Mork, Julie Perreault, John Parenteau, and Kurt Wyandt.

Special thanks to Dianne Klund, Clubhouse Manager for North Branch Golf Course for her help and suggestions during the planning of the tournament as well as on tournament day; to Falcon Ridge Golf Course for renting their golf carts for our use during the tournament, to Olson Power & Equipment for their assistance in transporting the golf carts, and to the North Branch Dairy Queen and the American Legion for their donation of ice which was greatly appreciated as it was a beautiful, but extremely warm day. The 2009 Village Classic was supported with supplemental funds provided by the Thrivent for Lutherans Chisago County Chapter #30087. To all of our supporters - a sincere thank you. We hope that you enjoyed the day and that you will consider supporting The Village Classic in the years ahead.

Julie A. Walton, Director of

Community Relations

The Villages of North Branch

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