“The gods were with us,” said Tony Soriano, Chairman of the Surfrider Foundation Huntington Beach/Seal Beach Chapter. By the Thursday, October 6th tee-off of the Chapter’s “Hacktoberfest” 2nd Annual Golf Classic at Meadowlark Golf Club the skies were clear after two days of heavy rain. This was a fundraiser for the Huntington Beach Coastal Preservation.
Setting their surf boards aside, Surfrider members got out their golf clubs and welcomed guests to a day of golf, contests, a barbecue dinner, and prizes. There were prizes for the top three golfing teams, longest drive, and closest to the pin.
First Place Team Winners were the surf celebrity team consisting of Jeff Deffenbaugh, Sam August, Byron August and Robb Havassy. The Second Place Team Winners were Robert Montenegro, Jay Reed, Davey Obade, and Marc Belmonte. The Third Place Team Winners were Huntington Beach City Councilman Keith
Bohr, Greg Kishel, Gary Sahagen and Bob Barry. The renowned surf artist Robb Havassy won both the longest drive and closest to the pin contests.
Volunteer Associates from Title Sponsor Kohl’s specialty stores were on hand and did an outstanding job. You could see them helping with registration and the event’s activities around the golf course in bright green “Hacktoberfest” Kohl’s T-Shirts.
Lifestyle apparel sponsor Volcom gave out hats, DVDs and stickers to everyone who brought a pair of used denim jeans to donate to its “Give Jeans a Chance” program to help the homeless. Primo beer had a tent on the course and supplied the golfers with its own Hawaii’s Original Beer and soft drinks.
Other sponsors provided gifts and prizes. RipCurl donated a precision “Tide” watch. The Wyland Foundation gave a personally signed, lithograph print titled “Hawaii in Paradise.” Surf City Art Co. contributed the Sean Davey Collection. Matson Graphics donated a $700 Gift Certificate for a custom logo and Rob Havassy Art donated artwork. Orange County Clothing Company also donated some cool Hats and Tshirts.
Whole Foods put together an amazing gift bag filled with coffee, olive oil and pasta, cookies, chocolates and more. Fred’s Mexican Café donated “Burrito Bucks” and The River’s End Café gave gift certificates. The Huntington Beach Waterfront Hilton contributed a night for two at their beautiful hotel, and Huntington Beach Hyatt Regency – a dinner for two at their Signature restaurant.
Superior Communications donated a Jawbone Bluetooth headsets and smart phone support systems. Vans, Dixon Golf, Shorebreak Hotel, Farmers and Merchants Bank, and Rainbow Disposal also showed their support.
Jeff Deffenbaugh, the Surfrider HB/SB Chapter’s Surf Ambassador, added the “Hacktoberfest” First Place Golf Trophy to his many surfing awards. He mentioned that he appreciates the opportunity his role as Ambassador gives him to help the Chapter “spread the word about cleaning up the ocean…especially to the younger surfers.”
Huntington Beach City Councilman Bohr said he had just come from a council meeting that approved an Environmental Impact Report on banning plastic bags. A supporter of the ban, he emphasized “In the long run we’ll be glad to get rid of the plastic that’s littering our ocean.” He was happy to be invited to participate in the golf tournament.
Gary Sahagen, the Director of the Huntington Beach International Surfing Museum, was pleased to be at the “Hacktoberfest.” A longtime supporter of the Surfrider Foundation, he joked that “It’s a way for me to give back after stealing all those waves.”
Event/MPA Outreach Coordinator Gene Rascon said, “The HB/SB Surfrider ‘Hacktobertfest’ Golf Classic was a success because of the involvement of both the surfing and non-surfing community and their strong interest in maintaining and protecting our exceptional coastline. Additionally, the bridge between the two was built by the hard work of the HB/SB Surfrider Executive & Core Volunteer Committee.” He was confident all along that the weather would be perfect for a day of golf and that he was excited to see everyone show up and have such a good time.
We must also thank Ricky Blake & Matson Graphics for donating their time to design our Hacktoberfest Poster and tshirts.

Story written by: SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel
http://www.surfwritergirls.blogspot.com




