Ben's 1st Annual Long Ball Classic
July 23, 2021 @ 12:00PM — 7:30PM Central Time (US & Canada)
Fighting suicide and sharing hope at Grand Falls Golf Resort.
THE MOST FUN YOU'LL HAVE ON A GOLF COURSE, FOR A CAUSE!
The Ben Longley family and his friends invite you to join us for a day of golf and fellowship to honor Ben's life and support life-giving programs for young adults in South Dakota and the surrounding region.
The first annual Ben's "Long Ball" Classic Golf Tournament will be hosted at Grand Falls Casino and Golf Resort on July 23, 2021. Teams of four will compete in a best-ball tournament starting at 1 PM CT, winding their way through 18 holes of crazy pin prizes, games, and attempting to beat "Ben's Challenge," all for the cause of suicide prevention. Throughout the day, participants can bid on silent auction items, with the auction closing just before the start of the program and dinner hosted at Grand Falls at 6 PM CT.
All proceeds from the golf tournament, silent auction, and dinner will go to support Lost&Found's campus mental health advocacy and Campus Mental Health Score programs serving college campuses in South Dakota, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Iowa.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
SILENT AUCTION
Friday, July 23
- 12:00-12:30PM CT: Golf teams check-in, driving range opens.
- 1PM CT: Golf tournament begins.
- 4:30-6PM CT: Reception
- 6PM CT: Dinner, Awards & Item Winner Announcements, and Program
- 7PM CT: Silent auction closes
AVAILABLE EVENT PACKAGES
- The "Long Ball" Experience ($625): Standard registration plus 2 mulligans per player and team entry into "Ben's Challenge"
- Standard Golf Team Registration ($500): Four players receive access to driving range, cart with bag tags, green fees, reception, evening program and dinner, and silent auction.
- Single Player Golf Registration ($125): Individual player receives access to driving range, cart with bag tags, green fees, reception, evening program and dinner, and silent auction. Player will be matched with open team positions; first come, first serve.
- Hole Sponsorships ($500): For any individual or organization interested in sponsoring a hole (and associated games!), the driving range, or hole-in-one prize.
- Dinner Only ($35): Reception, program and dinner, silent auction
SPONSORSHIPS
The Planning Committee for Ben's Long Ball Classic is seeking hole, driving range, and hole-in-one sponsors ($500), as well as sponsors for bag tags, Ben's Challenge, and t-shirts. The Committee is also seeking silent auction items for purchase. If you or your organization is interested in sponsorship or silent auction opportunities, or if you have any questions about terms of sponsorship, please contact Erik Muckey (605-202-8594).
HOTEL ROOMS AVAILABLE @ GRAND FALLS CASINO & GOLF RESORT
A block of 30 hotel rooms have been reserved for attendees of Ben's Long Ball Classic at Grand Falls Casino & Golf Resort at a rate of $164.95 (additional charge may be added depending on room request). Please call Grand Falls Casino & Golf Resort at 1-877-511-4FUN (4386) and mention the "Long Ball Classic" block to make your reservation.
ABOUT BEN'S CHALLENGE
Think you can keep a ball on the course for 18 holes? Here's your chance! Each team will be given a special, colored golf ball with their team number, and a different player must use the ball to play at each hole. Every player must have used it at least once! If your team is able to finish the entire course and keep the Ben's Challenge ball, you'll be entered into a drawing for a team prize to be awarded at the evening program.
We promise, it will be worth the Challenge!
IN MEMORY OF BEN LONGLEY
Ben Longley was born on March 18, 1998, in Harare Zimbabwe. He was the only son of Paul and Leigh and younger brother to Emma and Kirsty. In 2004, at the age of five, Ben moved with his family to the USA and Sioux Falls became his home town.
For twenty-two years Ben was a kind, loving, loyal and fun loving son, brother and friend. He had a thirst for knowledge and knew so many random facts on so many topics. It was this quest to know more about people, places and things that led to hours of debating with both his family and friends.
In April 2019, Ben started showing signs of a mental illness that shocked and ultimately rocked the world for all of us that knew and loved Ben. He fought so hard to find the answers to what was happening to him; however, the internal struggle and lack of a clear medical diagnosis, became too much. On July 21, 2020, Ben took his life.
This tournament is held in memory of Ben, the beloved and missed son, brother and friend, but it is more about bringing hope to the thousands of other men, women and children who find themselves struggling with mental health issues.
Ben would be so proud to know his fight for answers is being continued and his thanks would be endless!
ABOUT LOST&FOUND
Lost&Found is a Sioux Falls, SD-based nonprofit that connects young adults (ages 15-34) with the skills and community for lifelong resilience. We partner with K-12 and higher education institutions, employers, and community organizations to deliver comprehensive suicide prevention and mental health programs. Our services focus on three areas:
- Student Programs: Deliver resilience programs for K-12 & college campuses through student organizations or as a la carte options for campus administration.
- Evaluation Services: Apply public health expertise to assess and score campus or organization resource capacity across people, policies, & programs, as well as provide advising to community leaders.
- Training & Community Development: Address community and organization mental health needs through customized peer support training and resilience workshops.
Click here to learn more about Lost&Found's program approach.