Rio Grande Commodities shows appreciation with golf tourney

Courtesy Photo The low score team (62) is shown from left, Scott Beamon, Dwight Barlow, Gavin Davis and Keenan Anderson

ALAMOSA — The fifth annual Rio Grande Commodities Customer Appreciation Day and Golf Tournament was held July 19 at Cattails Golf Club in Alamosa.

Manny and Cindy Hemmerling, owners of Rio Grande Commodities, hosted the event held on July 19, 2012. James Hsu and his staff from Blue Foxx Continental Grill got things started by serving a delicious barbecue brisket lunch to the 190 guests, followed by the awarding of door prizes to 30 lucky participants.

The mood then turned to a more serious note.

Gilbert Fransen, Jr., a customer and friend of Rio Grande Commodities, recently and unexpectedly passed away on the family farm. An auction was held, along with a plea for donations, with the proceeds going to benefit Gilbert’s family.

Clint Off from Off Ranches in Del Norte was the highest bidder of two stage side tickets to the Tim McGraw / Kenny Chesney Brothers of the Sun Concert. The tickets, donated by Rio Grande Commodities, went for $600 and another $340 was generously donated by other guests.

The best ball golf tournament promptly ensued with 26 four-person teams participating. Bryce Bervig, clubhouse pro, said “Rio Grande Commodities’ tournament has grown every year, making this our biggest tournament of the year so far. “ While some teams take their golf seriously and are competitive, others are simply out to have a good time. A hole-i-one contest was sponsored by Town and Country Auto Mall on hole #4.

Anyone good enough or lucky enough to put the ball in the cup from 161 yards would win a new GMC Sierra, and though there were several valiant efforts, no one was able to do so.

“I’ve never seen so many people having this much fun on the golf course”, said Chet Choman, owner of Colorado Realty and Land. An avid golfer himself, and longest drive sponsor,

Choman also said, “This has become one of the premier golfing events of the summer.”

When asked for comment on the day’s events, Manny Hemmerling of Rio Grande Commodities responded, “Today was a gorgeous day for golf, Blue Foxx provided an excellent meal, Bryce and his crew from Cattails have the course in beautiful shape, and our guests seemed to all have a great time.I was particularly happy that we and our customers were able to honor the memory of Gilbert Fransen.

We sponsor this event to say thank you to our customers and, in return, we are gratified by the appreciation shown to us by everyone who participated today. I’d like to thank my crew and all the sponsors who helped put this together. It was a real team effort.”

For the second consecutive year the low team score was posted by Keenan Anderson, Gavin Davis, Dwight Barlow and Scott Beamon. Gavin also won $100 for being closest to the pin on hole #9, sponsored by Forage Genetics alfalfa seed. High team score was awarded to the team of Brad Watson, Ingrid Watson, Skip Haws, and Zach Haws (aka Jack Daws). Both teams vow to return to defend their crowns. The longest drive on hole #3 went to Clay Mullins who was awarded $100 by Chet Choman while the longest putt on hole #1 was sunk by Ty Hemmerling, winning $100 from Sharp Bros. Seed. Other contributors include CIA-Leavitt, Con Agra, Alamosa State Bank, Univar USA, Colorado Realty & Land, Sharp Bros. Seed, Town and Country Auto Mall, Forage Genetics and James Hsu.