Another successful year for the Wayne Carse Storm Athletic Benefit

by Jordan Bahl, reporter

The 13th annual Wayne Carse Storm Athletic Benefit took place on Friday, September 5, 2014. There was a golf outing in spite of the rain as well as a banquet, raffle and auction. This event is put on every year with all proceeds going towards the Simpson College Athletic Department.

In the past, the golf events were held at Echo Valley Country Club in Des Moines or Legacy Golf Course in Norwalk. John Sirianni, the overseer of this benefit, helped bring the golf to Indianola this year. After about 12 years of doing the same thing year in and year out, they wanted to take a chance and do something different.

“We felt that it was a perfect opportunity to bring this entire event back to Indianola and to our campus because we have so many brand new facilities. We want the Indianola Community and alumni to be able to see the progress the college has made over the last several years,” Sirianni said.

There is a lot of preparation that occurs when getting ready for the Wayne Carse Benefit. “We start working on this event basically right after the last one is done,” Sirianni continued. “It starts with the evaluation and looking at what we did, what we did well, what we didn’t do well, and what things do we need to change.” An all out effort from the different departments at Simpson is what makes this event so special to the staff, students, alumni and members of the community.

“…the goodwill, camaraderie, and relationship building that has gone on over the last 10 years…has been very positive,” Sirianni added.

Sirianni wanted to give recognition to Adam Urness, Lana Smith, Barb Overton, Laura Peterson, Rick Isaacson and Pat Hicks for their hard work in making the Wayne Carse Storm Athletic Benefit a success.

Along with the golf outing, there were silent and live auctions, raffle drawings and music in the Kent Campus Center. The musical acts were the Sonny Humbucker Band and the Monday Mourners. To end the night, there was a DJ that played for all students outside of Kent.

Another successful year for the Wayne Carse Storm Athletic Benefit is in the books. Ideas for next year’s event are most likely underway already.