Sporting Affair’s Chopper Dropper Congratulates 13 Winners
MELBOURNE, FLA.—Florida Institute of Technology’s Eighth Annual Chopper Dropper, part of the annual Sporting Affair athletics scholarship fundraiser, was held March 18 at the Suntree Country Club. The event delivered cash prizes to 13 lucky winners, including Mary Love of Northwest Palm Bay who took the $25,000 grand prize. The event, part of Sporting Affair XIX, raised money for Florida Tech athlete scholars.
Top winner Love said she was “ecstatic.” This was the third consecutive year she bought two tickets and attended the event. Married to Shawn, she is a mother of four children, ages 10 to 26.
Exactly 2,000 numbered golf balls were loaded into a helicopter and dropped on the driving range at Suntree. The ball that landed closest to the flag—which was Love’s Ball #447—won.
The $10,000 prize for the ball landing second closest to the pin went to Oscar Williams of Melbourne, Fla.; the $5,000 prize for third closest was claimed by William “Randy” Muns of Dallas, Texas. Ten runner-up prizes of $1,000 each went to Muns; Cornelius Harrison of Melbourne, Fla.; Eric Hermansen of Melbourne, Fla.; Carolyn Cacciatore of Melbourne, Fla.; John Mazur or Port Orange, Fla.; Joe Eckelman of Hopewell Junction, N.Y.; Cathryn Johnson of Orlando, Fla.; Florida Tech faculty member Ashok Pandit of Melbourne, Fla.; Scott Mikuen of Melbourne, Fla.; and Lisa Browder of Rockledge, Fla.
Chopper Dropper participants also had the opportunity to attend a cocktail buffet reception, sponsored by Audi of Melbourne, and participate in a live auction and raffle.
Sporting Affair XIX also included a golf tournament with a $1 million hole-in-one shootout sponsored by Berman Hopkins Wright & LaHam. The winners were John Hopkins, Justin Knox, Jim Thomas and Nick Lindheim. They combined to shoot a 50 at the Suntree Country Club.
“The Sporting Affair is our primary event to help our deserving student-athletes be successful both on and off the field. This year, some of the proceeds from our 2011 event helped kick-start fundraising for our new Panther football program,” said Ken Stackpoole, senior vice president and chief development officer. “Our Panthers are definitely off to a running start thanks to our many sponsors and community supporters,” he added.
Major sponsors included Audi of Melbourne, Berman, Hopkins, Wright & LaHam, Bisk Education, Bright House Networks, Coca Cola, Dean Mead, MIMA Sports Medicine, National Management Resources and Atlantic Business Systems.
CUTLINE: From left. Athletics Director Bill Jurgens; Mary Love; Assistant Vice President, Alumni Relations Bino Campanini; and President Anthony J. Catanese.
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