VERO BEACH — Ten years ago, Moorings resident and New Balance President Emeritus John Larsen was seeking a new cause for the company’s foundation to undertake.
Founded in 1906 as the New Balance Arch Company, the Boston-based firm originally manufactured arch supports and orthopedic shoes, and today, enjoys worldwide prominence as the manufacturer of a complete range of shoes, apparel, and accessories for a variety of athletic activities.
The New Balance Foundation has been in existence for more than 30 years and, as befitting its product category, has supported various community causes, including the Boys and Girls Clubs, YMCA, and childhood obesity prevention projects.
With degrees from Duke and Harvard universities, Larsen, in addition to his positions with New Balance, is also past president of the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry.
During a round of golf with Moorings neighbors, Larsen mentioned his desire to involve the company’s charitable foundation in the local community. Without hesitation, Peter Crouse suggested Indian River Habitat for Humanity, an entity which had displayed success in providing simple, decent homes for families in need since its local mission began in 1991. Larsen agreed that the Habitat cause was a good fit for the New Balance Foundation.
How this support would manifest itself was not a difficult decision for the high-end, golf-friendly community: a golf tournament. The New Balance Foundation agreed to put up $17,500 (“seed money,” Larsen put it,) and challenged the members of The Moorings Habitat House Committee to raise a matching amount.
Moorings residents Don Gervais, Brad Burnham, and other golfing pals immediately expressed their enthusiasm. Bob Samuels put together a proposal which was sent to Larsen, and soon planning began on the inaugural Moorings Golf Classic.
With Stan and Judy Ziemski and John and Barbara Gervais as event co-chairs, the first Moorings Golf Classic on Feb. 23, 2004, was a success right off the tee, raising more than enough to build a Habitat house.
Initially, to sustain and grow the new annual fundraiser, only corporate sponsorships were sought, as Larsen challenged the event committee to find another major sponsor. Moorings resident Shirley Becker was not only a golfer but was also familiar with Habitat’s work through a niece who was involved with the Sarasota affiliate.
Becker wanted to do something and decided to “step up and take the New Balance challenge. Individuals could be hole sponsors,” she said. “We did it Up North.”
So, in 2006, Becker became The Moorings Golf Classic’s first individual hole sponsor. And she didn’t stop there. Dick Winkler, current Moorings Habitat Committee Chairman and never a man to back away from a good challenge for a good cause, mentioned to Becker that she might want to consider being the main sponsor (price tag: $20,000.)
Winkler was mostly joking. But soon, in the mail, he received stocks worth around $19,000, from Becker. Becker had truly stepped up to the New Balance challenge and, in doing so, set a terrific example for other potential sponsors.
In the ensuing years, the New Balance Foundation has provided support in the form of sponsorships, sports gear, and prizes for participants. As the popularity of the single-day, single-event continued to grow, the event committee decided to expand.
Today hundreds enjoy The Moorings Habitat Classic Weekend, which over three activity-filled days, now includes a 5K run and 1-mile walk; a Hab-A-Tennis Event; a Habitat Bridge Benefit; and, of course, the Annual Golf Classic.
Capping the big weekend is the Hab-A-Cocktail Party, with a spectacular buffet, auction, and raffle.
For The Moorings’ ardent golfing community, the game is far more than an athletic pursuit. It is, as Golf Classic Committee member Marcia DuRie stated, a social opportunity as well.
“We get outside, we get exercise, and we get together with friends. And you don’t have to be great at it. I just want to be good enough not to embarrass myself,” DuRie added, with a smile.
Over the years, The Moorings Classic has grossed more than $1 million for the Habitat cause, a record several other of Habitat’s gated community sponsors have yet to break.
According to Winkler, the Classic has become so popular and successful that The Moorings management is beginning to use it as a sales tool for potential residents.
Among the community’s numerous fundraising events, The Moorings Habitat Classic Weekend, this year starting its second decade, stands as a successful, multi-faceted partnership supporting a very good cause and, thus, helping to meet a basic human need within our community.
