MEPAU was delighted to sponsor the 2019 Police Legacy & Community Golf Day held on Saturday, 5 October

Sixty two players participated in the event, which raised $7,000.

Sergeant Brett Cassidy, Officer in Charge Dongara Police Station, says the day was a great success. “It was a lovely day on the course. Low winds and a mild temperature made for perfect conditions.”

The 18-hole event was run as a two-person ambrose, a format in which players pair up and both hit a ball. The best ball is selected as the point from which both players hit their next ball.

Brett Cassidy says the event has been running for 22 years and has attracted a strong following over the years from players both locally and further afield.

“The ambrose format means people can play with their mates, and the Dongara Golf Course is a lovely course with ocean views. We give away so many prizes that everyone goes home with something. This year one player won quite a few raffle prizes as well as the whole day, so he took home a ute load of prizes and was very happy!”

About forty or fifty businesses sponsored the event, with many local businesses donating prizes. There was also significant support from wineries in the south west of the state, allowing each player to take home a bottle of wine.

Brett Cassidy says they appreciated MEPAU’s cash donation, which was used to buy a range of popular prizes.

Funds raised on the day almost entirely go to Police Legacy, an organisation which supports families of police officers who have died.

A small amount is also donated to local not-for-profit organisations.

Brett Cassidy says that apart from fundraising, the golf day is an important way for police to connect with the local community.

“We like to integrate with the community as best we can. We get tied up doing a lot of other things during the year but the golf day is our opportunity to put back into Dongara, which is a very small town. We’re out there playing, which gives people the chance to see us in another light,” he says.