BerksTALKLINE Golf Bowl

BerksTALKLINE's major fundraising activity is the BerksTALKLINE Golf Bowl, an 18-hole indoor miniature golf tournament, held annually in January. Golf Bowl 12 was held on January 26, 2008 at the Canal Street Pub and Restaurant.

Golf Bowl 12 Joins the Archives
Letter from the Executive Director

BerksTALKLINE unveiled plans for an indoor miniature golf tournament in 1997.  The idea behind the event was to channel all the energy of the Board of Directors into a single unique event that would serve as the primary fundraiser for BTL.  The first Golf Bowl, held January 18th and 19th at Canal Street Pub & Restaurant, was an overwhelming success.  That event raised a net figure of nearly $50,000.

After the death of Fred Hafer Sr. this past September, it was very evident to our entire BTL Team that we needed to rename the event in honor of Fred. He brought us the concept over 12 years ago and was the first honorary chair – two more facts to add to the story of this tremendous man. Ironically – right at the moment Martha Hafer was sharing her thoughts at the event about Fred and his connection to BTL, she mentioned Fred stating – one child saved – that will make BTL successful…a 12 year old in our community reached out and called our phone lines – feeling life was not worth living.  We were able to intervene and get supportive assistance to that child.  The night of the event, a young woman stepped forward and shared that she had called BTL twice two years previously after giving birth, when she truly needed someone to listen…and we were there.

What a night! I cannot possibly put in words my thoughts, feelings or gratitude. To date over 140,000 individuals of all ages have called the phone lines. The Golf Bowl fundraiser helps us keep our services free to all callers.  I am grateful to everyone who participated, volunteered, or financially supported the event. As you can see by the above paragraph – your efforts have already made a difference!

Spread the word about the services of BerksTALKLINE.  You never know – a family member, neighbor, co-worker may be facing an issue they do not feel comfortable talking about and need someone confidentially with whom to test the waters.  An elderly parent or relative might be alone much of the day and need to share their thoughts or feelings with someone.  A child may be alone after school thinking of something that happened that day.

BerksTALKLINE is for everyone…for any reason…11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. Sometimes...everyone needs someone who will listen!

Sandra Eshelman, Executive Director

Golf Bowl 12
Celebration and FUNdraising for our Community

After months of planning, our eagerly anticipated 12th annual Golf Bowl was held on Saturday, January 26. Once again we had a great turnout at Canal Street Restaurant from the Berks community. There were many new faces on hand as well as numerous old friends of BerksTALKLINE.

The fun of miniature golf, great music, and old fashioned team spirit came together to bring this year’s Golf Bowl to life. Honorary Chairperson, Maralyn Lakin, was seen escorting Ms. PutterRina PrimeMate while they sold raffle tickets. This year the prizes included a beautiful diamond bracelet and an Indy 500 ticket package among other amazing choices. Scott Wolfe of Reading Hospital was accompanied by an army of Reading Hospital golfers as he accepted the Honorary Chairperson responsibilities for Golf Bowl 2009. BerksTALKLINE President Don Mikes had the special honor of introducing Martha Hafer and her family who provided a loving tribute to Fred Hafer Sr. The BerksTALKLINE Golf Bowl was renamed The Fred Hafer Sr. Memorial Golf Bowl in his memory this year.

The exclusive goal of all of the fun is to raise the critical funding required to keep BerksTALKLINE moving forward. Difficult economic times bring more uncertainty to a cause like ours. The Golf Bowl is our main source of fundraising and this year was more important than ever. The level of volunteerism that the BerksTALKLINE Golf Bowl requires is huge. I give special thanks to all of our Corporate Sponsors, Board Members, Trustees, and our incredible staff at BerksTALKLINE and especially to our Executive Director Sandra Eshelman, who worked tirelessly to be sure that every aspect of the Golf Bowl runs smoothly. Congratulations on a job well done.

See all of you again January 24th, 2009!

Steve Gelb, Golf Bowl Chairman

Corporate Sponsors

• AEM Architects
• Affinity Bank
• Arkema
• Berkshire Bank
• Boscov's Department Stores
• Cacoosing Schmidt Foundation
• Caron Foundation
• CM3, Inc.
• Comcast
• Dimensions
• Dolan Construction
• East Penn Manufacturing
• Ed & Alma Lakin
• Enersys
• Essick & Barr
• Essig, Valeriano & Fudeman P.C.
• EthoSource, LLC
• First Energy
• Griffin Financial Group LLC
• Koch & Koch
• Marlin Miller Jr. Foundation
• Marywood University - Dept. Social Work – (Reading Campus)
• McGlinn Capital Management
• Mogel, Speidel, Bobb & Kershner
• National Penn Bank
• OnePOINT
• PACE Institute
• Penn National Gaming Foundation
• Penske Truck Leasing
• The Reading Hospital & Medical Center
• The Reading Hospital Medical Group
• Reinsel Kuntz Lesher LLP
• Remax of Reading, Realtors
• Sovereign Bank
• Stevens & Lee
• Ted Smith Floor Products
• Tray-Pak Corporation
• UGI Utilities, Inc.
• VF Outlet
• William G. Koch & Associates

In-kind Sponsors

• Berks  Photographic Society
• Affinity Bank
• Boscov’s Department Stores
• First Energy
• Fortna           
• Lamar Advertising
• Penske Truck Leasing
• Reading Eagle Company
• Stereo Barn
• Ugly Oyster
• UGI Utilities
• VF Outlet
  

Event Staff

• Bob Tier & The Party People
• Countless Dedicated Volunteers
• Canal Street Pub & Restaurant Staff
• Craig Correll & First Energy Facilities Team           
• Don Shires (Berks Photographic Society)
• Jake Bausher
• Leesport Bank           
• Our Board of Directors and Trustees
• Steve Gelb and the GB Committee