Uniting Our Community golf tournament moved to April

Brandon White, Henderson (N.C.) Daily Dispatch
·2 min read

Sep. 23—HENDERSON — Uniting Our Community has postponed a golf tournament fundraiser at Kerr Lake Country Club that had originally been scheduled for Oct. 9.

Allen Simmons, who is the president of Uniting Our Community, was expecting a big turnout from Henderson and the surrounding communities for the event but realized that the organization could be in a better position to accomplish that goal early next year.

"We were trying to get something done and had originally announced this tournament about a month ago," Simmons said. "We wanted to make it happen but the decision was made to hold off on the tournament and hold it on April 2."

Simmons founded Uniting Our Community back in 2018 with a mission centered on encouraging local residents to work together and enhance the lives of everyone in the community.

In order to have Uniting Our Community make an impact right from the start, Simmons hosted several events at Vance County Middle School in which different organizations could be under one roof so that residents would have much easier access to available resources in the region.

"We found that there were a lot of resources here in our community but people just didn't know about them," Simmons said. "Those events were a way of educating people here about what's available and how these organizations could help them."

Simmons had planned to host more gatherings within downtown Henderson but the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic meant that Uniting Our Community had to adjust their strategy and organize events that promoted safety and social distancing.

Simmons envisions the golf tournament at Kerr Lake Country Club as the ideal community event while the pandemic persists, adding that golfers can enjoy a relaxing but competitive day on the course while also learning more about Vance County.

Along with being the first golf tournament hosted by Uniting Our Community, Simmons said the event will be the first in a new partnership with Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc., which was founded at Howard University in 1914 that maintains a strong commitment to brotherhood, scholarship and service.

With the assistance of Phi Beta Sigma, all proceeds from the Uniting Our Community Golf Tournament will go towards providing scholarships for one senior in Franklin, Granville, Vance and Warren counties.

Simmons said that Phi Beta Sigma's presence is a major boost towards Uniting Our Community's overall mission and said that the upcoming months between now and the golf tournament are going to be busy for the organization as they work with others towards improving the quality of life in the region.

"There are a lot more that we plan on doing," Simmons said. "We're going to welcome [Phi Beta Sigma] to the community in November and we'll also invite guests from all of the counties we serve so that we can get ideas on things that we can do to help improve the lives of citizens."