CHOCOWINITY — Two golfing communities, each at its respective club, met for a golf tournament Saturday, with its proceeds benefitting a local cancer institution.

Several sponsor teams like First South Bank and members of Washington Yacht and Country Club and Cypress Landing were up bright and early Saturday to tee off for the Let’s Tee It Up For a Cure Golf Tournament.

On both sides of the river, a total of 56 teams — 30 at Cypress and 26 at WYCC — came out for a day of leisure and to raise money for the Marion L. Shepherd Cancer Center, the only facility in Beaufort County that offers monthly programs and treatment for cancer patients, survivors and caregivers. The teams of four at each course engaged in a format called Texas Scramble, in which all four team members tee off and wherever the best drive falls, everyone plays from there, said Cypress Landing Golf Pro Peg Bodie.

Bodie said each participant, on both sides of the river, contributed $50 for the tournament, which also qualified them for a breakfast, courtesy of Hardees and a lunch, courtesy of On the Waterfront of Washington and Texas Roadhouse of Greenville. The event’s success was a result of a community-wide effort to support the Beaufort County cancer facility, Bodie said.

“This is an amazing community (Cypress), as well as the people over in the Washington Yacht and Country Club,” Bodie said. “They came over here for several meetings. We kind of showed them the ropes, and they organized their own end of the river. This is a center that we all have people that have either utilized or will utilize in the future so it benefited both sides of the river, and they were more than happy to come on board with us. It doesn’t happen without our community (BeauCo.) as well. We have endless volunteers and that’s pretty much what Cypress is all about.”

At WYCC, Cypress Landing resident and WYCC member Skip Keim, a volunteer at the cancer center, participated in the tournament in memory of his late wife, who lost her life to cancer about two years ago.

“My motivation to participate today is the fact that I lost my wife to cancer two years ago,” Keim said. “I’m a volunteer at the Marion L. Shepherd Cancer Center and I see what good the center does for people — not just the patients, but the families, the caregivers, and part of my motivation is to give back what my wife received when she was suffering with her cancer so it’s gratifying. It’s all for a great cause.”

Last year, only Cypress Landing participated in the event, raising around $30,000 for the center. This year, however, with WYCC joining the campaign, the event raised around $70,000, which will go it the center in its entirety. WYCC Golf Pro Jeremy Shadle said WYCC members and its board of directors were anxious to be a part of the event.

“Last year, it was such a success and many people could not get in to the event,” Shadle said. “Again, this year, it filled up quickly, even expanding it. So I think it was an obvious need afterwards, and talking with Pam (Shadle) about how successful it was that we should certainly be a part of it as well. We wanted to make sure we didn’t change things, but only complimented what Cypress had done (last year).”

At WYCC, several members of the Shepherd Cancer Foundation were present, including Marion L. Shepherd Cancer Center Foundation Board President Ainsley Rusevlyan and Oncology Social Worker Kristi Fearrington, both of whom said the event is vital to the center’s operations, as well as extending programs and care to its patients, survivors and caregivers. The money raised from the event goes toward providing complimentary therapies, including massages and educational programs to patients, caregivers and survivors, Rusevlyan said. The center also raises money to aid in co-payments for prescriptions or the prescriptions themselves and provide transportation to and from the center.

“What really impresses me the most, it helps individuals who are in need who otherwise may not receive cancer care,” Rusevlyan said.

Fearrington echoed Rusevlyan’s comments, and she added, funds from events like the golf tournament also aid those at the center with costs they may be struggling with as a result of their cancer diagnosis, including gas costs and utility bills.

“We’re already brainstorming new programs and resource material that we can use that we haven’t had the leeway to provide before,” Fearrington. “We’re just going to be able to reach more people, in more ways, more often.”