Golf Tournament Planned to Help Raise Funds for New Senior Center

Last week, the Hartford Courant called Ellington the state's “most typical town.” But for Wayne Reynolds, Ellington is not typical in one big way.

“It's typical in some ways, but not all,” said Reynolds, chairman of the Ellington Senior Center Steering Committee. “Of the nine surrounding towns, Ellington is the only town that does not 'own' a senior center - it rents space for $3,200 per month.”

But Reynolds, along with a steering committee and a group of committed volunteers, is working to make that ownership a reality.

And the mission starts with a round of golf.

On Monday, Oct. 3, the Ellington Senior Center Building Fund Golf Tournament will be held at , and sponsors and golfers are being sought to participate.

“It's designed to be fun and for golfers to have a good time,” said Stu Magdefrau, chairman of the tournament. “You get to play a course that's normally private and it's for a good cause.”

The wheels were set in motion for the tournament back in June or July, said Magdefrau. Players can create their own foursomes or tournament officials can put a team together for them.

“They don't have to have a handicap,” added Magdefrau. “If they don't have one, we ask for an average score or how often they play.”

The honorary chairperson of the tournament is UConn Women's Basketball Associate Head Coach and Ellington resident, Chris Dailey.

“As an Ellington resident, I am happy to do what I can to urge citizens, businesses and non-profit organizations to financially support the building of a new senior center,” Dailey said in the tournament brochure. “Seniors are a vital part of any community and it is important for them to have a place of their own where they can stay healthy and active.”

Tournament sponsorship opportunities include dinner and lunch sponsorships, which includes one foursome, banner and recognition at mealtime for $3,000, to tee sponsorships at $100 each. Key sponsor Rockville Bank Foundation has donated $6,500 to kick off the fundraising effort.

“Our goal is to raise $50,000,” said Magdefrau. “We've got a good start, but we have a ways to go.”

The cost is $185 per golfer and includes the tournament, lunch, cocktails, dinner, raffle prizes and a silent auction. For those just attending the dinner, the cost is $50.

For more information on the golf tournament, to become a tournament sponsor or to donate raffle and silent auction prizes, please see the attached brochure to contact Magdefrau.

The proceeds of the tournament will benefit the Ellington Senior Center Building Fund. This year, the town allocated $15,000 in its budget for architectural drawings and site evaluation for the proposed project, which would ultimately go to referendum. The steering committee, which came together in November 2010, chose The Lawrence Associates, a Manchester-based architectural firm with a good track record on designing senior centers, to come up with .

“We hope to have the plans in a couple weeks,” said Reynolds. “We plan to be able to show the proposal of the building at the tournament.”

The goal is to build a center across from the high school on town-owned land to offer Ellington's senior population a building approximately 10,600 square feet, complete with a game room, recreation room, dining room, library, kitchen, health clinic area, multipurpose room, a conference room and office space for the staff, though plans have not yet been finalized.

Reynolds says he estimates the project could cost between $2 million and $3 million, but sees events like the golf tournament and other potential fundraisers, like a walk-a-thon, as ways to help fund the project.

“It would cut down on the overall cost to the town and taxpayers,” he said.

He said the project is long overdue and says the committee would agree to waiting until January to put the question on a referendum, but would petition to send to referendum, if need be.

The current is located in rented space at Ellington Center Plaza, near the  and . The 3,375-square-foot, three-room space cannot accommodate the town's 2,479 citizens aged 60+.

“There's a very strong need to have a much better facility than what the town has now,” said Magdefrau.

“We're falling way behind in what we provide senior citizens in Ellington,” said Reynolds, who noted there are the active seniors looking for exercise opportunities, independence and the opportunity to socialize. “We want to offer what other towns are offering, just smaller. Because we're smaller.”