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Chamber of Commerce honors veterans during Steel Days

Daily Herald - 7/2/2017

Steel Days is a great way to celebrate American Fork's heritage and come together as a community. It's also a great way for local businesses and the chamber of commerce to give back to this vibrant community.

One of the ways they do so is through the Memorial Classic Golf Tournament; this year the money will go to the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

"It's a really fun event and is a wonderful way for us to give back in a small way to those who have put it all on the line," said Ryan Hunter, business development officer in the chamber.

The fundraiser has been going on for about 10 years now and has previously raised money for cancer patients, the Autism Council of Utah and the American Fork Police Department. The fundraiser takes place every year around Memorial Day and was held this year on May 31.

The chamber strives to create a business community that gives back any way it can, Hunter said. It encourages business around American Fork to participate by hosting events like the Memorial Classic, which presents a chance for them to do so. It is open to the public, but the tournament maxes out at 36 teams.

According to Hunter, this year the local SportClips called to participate because the event matched its core value of supporting veterans. The company offered prizes to participants at certain holes to encourage more people to attend.

The tournament features several unique challenges to make money. For example, the American Fork High School drumline set up shop at the 15thhole. Each time a golfer went to swing, they would play as loud as they could to distract the player. The only way to get them to stop was by "paying them off." The money raised was put into the fundraiser.

Golfers could also pay members of the American Fork golf team to swing for them at certain holes with the money going toward the fund. Between $2,000 and $2,500 was raised for the VFW this year.

The award will be presented during the Big Show on July 15. Kraig Thorne, senior vice commander of VFW post 4918, will be accepting the award.

"The money is going to two causes. One is Operation Teddy Bear, which is a comfort bear that is given to children of deployed parents," Thorne said. "The second one is going toward prints of Jose Valdez that will go in schools around Utah County."

The prints are replicas of a portrait of Valdez that was commissioned in 2015. They will be placed in eight schools along with his medal of honor citation. Thorne hopes the prints will help inspire students to succeed.