2nd Annual Longball22 Classic Golf Tournament

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 second annual Longball22 Classic Golf Tournament will be hosted at Grand Falls Casino and Golf Resort on July 22, 2022. Teams of four will compete in a best-ball tournament starting at 12 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, and after the tournament finishes, a dinner, program, and live auction will be held.

All proceeds from the golf tournament, silent auction, and dinner will go to support Lost&Found's Peer2Peer Mentorship program serving more than 6 college campuses in South Dakota and Minnesota.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Friday, July 22, 2022

• 11:00 AM CT: Registration opens and lunch served to golfers. The driving range and putting green opens.
• 12 PM CT: Golf tournament begins.
• 5:30-6:30 PM CT: Reception
• 6:30 PM CT: Dinner buffet opens.
• 7:00 PM CT: Program and live auction begin, silent auction closes. Item winners and team awards announced.

LIVE PERFORMANCE BY BLESSING OFFOR

The Longley family, The Foundation, and Lost&Found are excited beyond words to announce Blessing Offor will be with us at the Longball 22 Classic on July 22, 2022, at Grand Falls Casino & Resort.

Blessing is a rising musical star out of Nashville, TN, and someone we are proud to call our friend.

Life for this young man was not always easy. Born in Nigeria to a loving family, congenital glaucoma caused almost complete blindness in Blessing’s left eye. At the age of six, Blessing’s family made the decision to send their son to America to live with an uncle, enabling him the opportunity to receive first rate medical services. Unfortunately, fate struck Blessing another blow and, due to an accident while playing with his peers, irrevocable damage to his good eye left Blessing completely blind. For a young boy, this could only be described as devastating.

Fast forward to 2014 when Blessing made his debut on The Voice! Four judges chairs turned.

That was just the start and Blessing has continued making waves with his distinguishable voice and ability to engage audiences with the honesty and true passion behind his lyrics.

In his own words, “Pop music is focused on escaping reality, and I think music shouldn’t be meant as an escape mechanism alone. Self-reflection is really important, and music can speak the truth about the world that you are in and the social unrest going on".

After our beloved son, Ben took his life on July, 21, 2020, his sister Kirsty, told us we needed to listen to a song written and sung by her friend, Blessing. The song was performed with Chris Tomlin and called, Tin Roof. I was struck by how the seemingly indescribable thoughts, feelings, and desires you face after losing someone could be captured in a song. A friendship that started as an ironic twist of fate, has grown on the common ground of faith. Faith that we can bring awareness to the mental health crisis facing the world. Faith that we can end the stigma of suicide. And faith that the voices of the lives lost will not be forgotten.

It was on this foundation of faith that Blessing got involved with the Longball 22 Classic. With no hesitation, he has donated his time and talent on July 22, 2022. There are no words to express our love and appreciation of this gift of music as we remember Ben and continue our efforts in the fight against suicide.

We look forward to welcoming Blessing to South Dakota.

EVENT TICKETS

• Golf Team Registration ($625): Four players receive access to driving range, cart with bag tags, green fees, box lunch, dinner and drink tickets for the evening event, and a commemorative gift.
• Dinner Only - Table Reservation ($400): An entire table may be reserved (seats 8) for the reception, program and dinner, and auction events. Tables can be purchased for $400.
• Dinner Only - 4 Additional Tickets ($200): Golfers may purchase 4 additional seats to reserve a full dinner table that includes 4 significant others, friends, family, etc. for the reception, program and dinner, and auction events.
• Dinner Only - Individual Ticket ($50): Reception, program and dinner, auction events ticket for one person.

SPONSORSHIPS

The Planning Committee for the Longball22 Classic is seeking a variety of sponsorships for the event. 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 (605-215-0421).

HOTEL ROOMS AVAILABLE @ GRAND FALLS CASINO & GOLF RESORT

A block of 40 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.
• Education & Advocacy: Address community and organization mental health needs through customized peer support training and resilience workshops.
• Postvention Services: Our Survivors Joining For Hope team provides financial assistance and support networks to suicide loss survivors, as well as working with community partners on postvention policies and best practices.

Click here to learn more about Lost&Found's program approach.