It was a great day in Southport yesterday for golfing, and fundraising. The Southport Golf Club held a tournament yesterday to raise funds for victims of the fires in Fort McMurray. Club Manager and Head Professional Dennis Heimpel explains the tournament, noting they had a good number of golfers and great weather for the tournament.

"We decided to have a fundraiser for Red Cross in support of the victims of the fires out in Alberta in the Fort McMurray area. We intended on having the tournament last week but then we got snow (laughs) which kind of backed it up. We had much nicer weather yesterday, a little windy but much warmer and we had a good field of 44 people out there. The entry fee was $40 per person and half of that money, so $20 from each person, goes to the Red Cross to support the fire victims."

Heimpel comments on the generosity of the people in and around Portage.

"We had some people that couldn't make the tournament because of the long weekend, who donated money. We raised right around $1,200, which shows there are some pretty generous people in this area. I decided to donate money because the Red Cross said they needed funds more than hard goods, so this was an easy way to do it, and all of the golfers enjoyed a steak dinner after."

He notes the money raised will be given to the Red Cross as soon as possible, where it will be sent to the appropriate offices in Alberta.