By Darren Lum
The Matt Duchene Charity Golf Classic to benefit the Haliburton Highlands Health Services Foundation is taking a swing at it again after a two-year forced hiatus due to the pandemic.
Scheduled for July 22 at the Blairhampton Golf Club in Minden, the best-ball format event, which has raised more than $900,000 for Haliburton and Minden hospitals and healthcare facilities after more than 21 years, will be raising money for new intravenous pumps (helping with deliver fluids, medication, blood and blood products) for the acute care and emergency departments.

Current Nashville Predators sniper Matt Duchene, who the fundraiser is named after, was looking forward to the return.
“It’s great to have the tourney back up and running this year. It’s always a great time, and the support we get, and money we raise for Haliburton Highlands Health Services is super important to our community,” he wrote in an email.
He expects to golf with friends, but didn’t say who will join him yet.

Haliburton Highlands Health Services Foundation’s executive director Lisa Tompkins is excited for the return, particularly how there were other organizations that held golf fundraisers during the pandemic.
“We unfortunately still had to exercise an overabundance of caution. So, it didn’t work out that that was the kind of event that we were able to have and also with some of the other restrictions that we have in health care. We’re really excited that we can be putting that back in place this summer,” she said.
The return of this event has a new venue, with the 18-hole course at the Blairhampton Golf Club.
“It’s an opportunity for a bit of a change. Again, we haven’t had the event for a couple of years. So, we’ve kind of refreshed a number of elements of the tournament, taking it to another great golf course in Haliburton County,” Tompkins said.
Tompkins, who adds there is an emphasis on highlighting local suppliers and providers, said the event will include a silent auction, team prizes, hole-in-one holes contests, feature a midday lunch outside, where people will be sheltered by a tent rather than an in-door end of day dinner in the ball room of the Pinestone Resort.

The event will feature morning and afternoon sessions. Organizers are thankful to generous advertisers, donors, participants, sponsors and volunteers for their ongoing commitment and dedication.
For more information and to register, go to hhhs.ca/foundation and click on the tournament link.