An idea to put together a fun event was the spark that lit a flame that has continued to burn for nearly two decades and has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for scholarships for The CIRI Foundation.

It all started in 1984 when Joyce F. Anderson got together some of her friends to organize a golf tournament under the auspices of a company which later became Peak Oilfield Service Co. The thing was, according to Anderson whose husband Lance is a former CIRI vice president, they didn't spend all the money they raised the next year to put the tournament together.

"We ended up with money left over, and I went to Carl Marrs and said, 'What are we going to do with it?' We decided the best thing would be to use it for scholarships," she said.

And that was the beginning of the annual CIRI Golf Classic, which became a regular event in 1985 when the tournament raised $2,600 for The CIRI Foundation. Since then, the tournament has raised nearly $1 million. Although over the years most of the proceeds have gone to The CIRI Foundation, this year other educational charities will be the beneficiaries, including Cook Inlet Tribal Council's Youth Leadership Program, the GCI Alaska Academic Decathlon, and Chickaloon's Ya Ne Dah Ah School.

Anderson discussed the very first golf tournament and how it grew over the years in a recent interview. She said in 1984, CIRI and McDonald Industries were partners in the company that would become Peak, where Anderson worked at the time. It was decided to invite the companies' customers to get together for a golf tournament at Elmendorf.

"We put together about a 40-person tournament, and word of mouth spread and everybody wanted to play," she said, noting that among those who participated the first year was Alaska's governor.

Although Anderson said the tournament started small, it quickly grew and eventually became one of the leading charity tournaments in Anchorage. "These were big companies involved," she said. "It just grew."

Anderson was particularly pleased when she and others involved in organizing the tournament decided to bring the community in as a whole, and not just those associated with the petroleum industry or the construction industry. "We worked really hard on that," she said.

As the tournament grew in size and importance, the scholarships were always "first and foremost," according to Anderson. People felt strongly about supporting education, and that made a big difference in raising money.

"There's a warm place in my heart for the CIRI tournament and the value it has contributed to the community," said Anderson, who worked on organizing the event for about 10 years. Today she lives in Kirkland, Wash., with her husband and makes regular trips to Alaska to keep in contact with family and friends.

Over the years, many people from various industries, including state leaders, have participated. Former Gov. Bill Sheffield said he accepted Anderson's invitation when he was governor because he enjoyed the camaraderie among the players. As the tournament grew, he said he really appreciated the idea of supporting scholarships.

Jan Sieberts, a senior vice president at Wells Fargo Bank, said he has played in the tournament a number of times throughout its history. He said he has never won, although he came close one year. He laughed when he recalled bringing Tara Candelaria to play one year when both of them were working at National Bank of Alaska. He didn't win that year, but Candaleria and her team tied for second place.

Candelaria, who is now a vice president of Key Bank, is a Koniag shareholder who is happy to support scholarships that benefit other Alaska Natives. She was thrilled the first year she played in the tournament because she also won the donated fur coat that was included among the top prizes for golfers. Team prizes that are given out are always donated by various businesses.

Pam Allen, CIRI human resources director who managed the tournament for several years after Anderson moved on, notes that each year the CIRI employees and volunteers working on the tournament became more efficient. According to Allen, it was always inspiring to attend the banquet after the tournament because scholarship recipients made remarks about what the financial assistance meant to them.

"There were some people who were the first in their family to pursue higher education and there were others who were able to complete their degree as a result of the scholarship from the tournament," said she.

Dawn Dinwoodie, CIRI's community relations specialist who currently heads up the tournament, is impressed with the team effort that goes into the event. "We've become a very professional operation, and it's wonderful to work with people who work well together and really put their hearts into this event," she said.

Susan Anderson, president and CEO of The CIRI Foundation, said she is grateful for the many years of support to the foundation and that she is pleased with the new direction for the proceeds.

"I feel that transferring the focus from scholarships to educational projects with an emphasis on earlier educational success for Alaska Native students is a wonderful complement to the foundation's work," she said. "We're all looking to promote success as early as possible to give our people the tools for post-secondary success."

Previous Article | Top | Next Article | Return to the list of newsletters