As far as golfing goes, it was a busy week around the Foothills. There were three great golf tournaments going on, all supporting and fundraising for different causes.

It all started off on Monday with the Annual Rotary Foothills Golf Classic at D'Arcy Ranch Golf Course. The event included a dinner after a day of golf, a silent auction, and some fun golf themed games including the Marshmallow Drive, where players were asked to drive a marshamllow as far as possible. The Rotary Club of Okotoks is very active in the community. They fundraise, throw events and also provide volunteer support to our community. The money raised from their golf tournament helps to ensure that they can continue to provide these services and be a valuable asset to our community.

Next was the Sheep River Health Trust Golf 4 Wellness on Thursday. This was their 12th annual golf tournament, which was raising money to refurbish the tub room at the Oilfields General Hospital in Black Diamond. It was a beautiful day for golf, with the sun shinning and the temperature in the 30's. As part of their tournament they also followed the day of golf with a dinner, and they had entertainment on the holes as well, such as the Ducky Drive, where players had to drive a rubber ducky as far as they could to win a prize. The Sheep River Health Trust raises funds to help support the health services around the Foothills area and so is an important charitable organization in our community.

To top off the week, Highwood Community Futures here in Okotoks hosted a golf day, followed by a information session and dinner. The goal of Community Futures is to provide small businesses with loans and coaching, so that these small businesses can be viable and thrive in our community. Community Futures assured businesses have been proven to increase employment, withstand economic shock, have better sales growth and longevity than other businesses.  Community Futures also has a partnership with the Town of Okotoks, to rent out office space from their building to new, developing businesses. These offices come fully furnished and have internet access included, so that these new businesses can focus on getting "off their feet" before moving into stores fronts around town. The aim of the night was to provide a day of golf fun and to provide a report back to the community on what Community Futures has done and achieved in the community. To date the Highwood team has been able to contribute 144 million into the community over the course of 29 years.

Thanks to these three organizations, our town and surrounding Foothills area will just keep getting better and better!

~Megan