5th Annual Joe Giomi Memorial Golf Tournament ~ Article Written & Photos Submitted by Cher Giomi

Saturday, September 18th, 2021 marked the 5th Annual Joe Giomi Memorial Golf Tournament.

The Joe Giomi Memorial Golf Tournament was started in October 2016. Joe’s daughter Cheryl spearheaded the annual tournament after Joe passed away. She donates the proceeds of the tournament to the Rotary Club Of Yerington’s scholarship program.

It is a time consuming experience to put on a tournament, with asking for donations, both monetary and raffle prizes. Community members are asked by all the schools and groups in the area repeatedly but the community never waivers and does support the tournament and Joe’s legacy.

       This year’s tournament was the largest to date with 91 players and over 23 teams at the Golf Course of Fernley. Cheryl heads up the tournament and brings in Rotarians for the day of the tournament to help with check in and serve lunch. The tournament is a 4-person scramble with a shot gun start. The typical mulligans are purchased at check-in, but an added kicker is a Joe-ism. All teams were allowed one “foot wedge” no closer to the hole, where a team member could kick the ball to a better lie without penalty. Joe Math is a good laugh for those who knew how Joe played golf. Joe always seemed to be the winner of a round of golf, unless he wasn’t keeping score. With that, the only prize that is given is to the last place team. The Golf Club at Fernley donates a round of golf for each player on that team. No other prizes are awarded.

The tournament consists of a longest drive and closest to the pin for both men and women. This year the longest drives went to Tyler Waldaias and Teslie Dewitt. The closest to the pin went to Scott Dewitt and Shelly Drake. Prizes for these feats were gift cards to Dini’s Lucky Club, donated by the Dini family.

The following players were the team winners:

1^st Place: Marty Howard, Randy Menesini, Darrell Rife, and Gene Carr

2^nd Place: Harry Loll, Wayne Pederson, Nick Greenhut, and Mitch Twindell

3^rd Place: Phil Speight, Evan Speight, Nate Gibson, and Kevin Dyess

Our awardees for last place were: Fred Jones, Julie Jones, Sue Dane, and Bob Storke

Raffle prize donors are:

Morris Metal: Two metal art pieces: Flag, Golf

Christopher Ranch: Garlic goodie basket

Tisjelling Wines: Several bottles of red and white wine

Glass with a Twist: Etched beer and wine glasses

Hendrix Outdoor: Fishing pole worth $200

Yerington Station: Gift Cards

Lux Lavender: Lavender basket including lotions, sanitizers, fresh Lavender, and lemonade

Pure Platinum: Gift basket with lotion, shampoo, conditioner

Specially Snackers: Snack basket packed with goodies

Nora Stevens: Nevada basket

Jan Recanzone: Two baskets

Alpine Lock & Key: Small safe