September has already been a busy month at The Land Conservancy of New Jersey with two annual events happening the same week: the Garden State Gran Fondo and The Gray Cup Golf Classic! The Land an early morning ride this past Sunday at the Fondo. The team comprised of Kaki Pierson, Kate Halse, Matthew Finlay, Bill Conger, Gerry Lauro, Billy Pinilis, and David Epstein rode a total of 400 miles combined. It was a wonderful event, celebrating the majestic beauty of New Jersey and its many preserved natural habitats and spaces in their fall glory. Long live Rolling Hills!
On the heels of the Gran Fondo weekend, the popular and much anticipated Gray Cup Golf Classic took place a few days later at the elegant Hamilton Farm Golf Club. Now in its 11th year, the golfing fundraiser was once again well attended, with 61 golfers participating, playing a faster-paced ‘Scramble format’ on the Highland course. The top prize at the Gray Cup this year went to the Round Table Wealth Management foursome of Bruce Hyde, Steven Giacona, Steven Levine, and Jeff Plutchock. Meanwhile, the Most Honest Team award was given to Todd Hosier, Karen Dietz, Tom Terres, and Maryann Cubberly. Additional winners include Will Dietz for the Men’s Longest Drive and Dyanna Pepitone for Women’s Longest Drive. In the Closest to the Hole category, Bruce Graham was the Men’s winner and Sandy Keegan clinched it in the Women’s category. Congratulations to the winners and thanks again to all who participated.
Gray Cup participant and friend of The Land Conservancy of New Jersey, Tom Trynin said, “As always, everyone had a great time at the annual Gray Cup Classic – Hamilton Farm is one of the area’s best courses and the beautiful weather made it a perfect day of golf. I enjoyed getting together with friends for some golf and to support the great work The Conservancy is doing to help preserve the natural beauty of our local townships and counties,” he added.
Post-contest, golfers enjoyed cocktail hour, then a bit of live-auction fun, including a wine pull featuring 30 different bottles to bid on for $20 a pop. After an informative and engaging presentation from president David Epstein, the crowd was encouraged to donate on the spot to support the Yards Creek Preserve, a project that The Land Conservancy is working closely with the William Penn Foundation to preserve 20 properties in the near future. This impromptu donation drive netted $17,000 towards this important project. Overall, it was an extremely successful event. A big thank you goes out to all who attended and we hope to see you again next year!
