Golf outing raises money for parade

More than 110 Little Neck, Douglaston, and Bayside residents teed off to raise money for the largest Memorial Day parade in the nation.
At the sixth-annual golf outing, held on Monday, May 7, parade organizers and supporters played 18 holes at the Wheatley Hills Golf Course in East Williston, Long Island to benefit the local parade.
“Everybody loved it. You couldn’t ask for better weather. All of the people who play golf said it was a great course. It was a wonderful day,” said Jim Rodgers, Chair of the Little Neck-Douglaston Memorial Day Parade.
Rodgers explained that the money raised, which has not been calculated yet to deduct expenses, goes to the parade, to buy medical supplies for veterans, and to host the annual Art and Essay Contest, for which winners will be announced on Friday, May 18.
During the outing, Carl Mattone, Event Chair, sponsored a Jet Blue challenge - make a hole-in-one on the last hole and win $1 million. But, none of the four men who tried were able to make the shot.
However, two golfers, Luke Errett and Jim Flaherty, each shot a hole-in-one during the round, and were awarded prizes by BMW of Bayside.
As the outing wrapped up, participants listened to patriotic songs by U.S.O. (United Service Organizations) metropolitan singers Jaygee Macapugay and Lynelle Johnson, and Mattone and Rodgers thanked event Co-Chairs Richard Ditmyer, Jim Flaherty, Tom McGarry, and Bobby Spitz. Then, the golf teams with the top scores were announced.
Two teams - one made up of Joe Alessandro, Danny Chiang, McGarry, and Anthony Caiazzo, the other team of Kyle Poppe, Ron Levinson, Terrance Quinn, and William McLaughlin - tied for first with scores of 71.