Sunday golf tournament to benefit first responders

First responders will benefit from the sixth annual Silent Heroes Golf Tournament scheduled for a 1 p.m. shotgun start Sunday, Oct. 24 at The Duke at Rancho El Dorado Golf Club.

The 18-hole scramble tournament still has openings left. Entries are $80 per person or $320 for a foursome. Registration is available online at www.silent-heroes.org.

Proceeds from the event will go toward scholarships for the children of Pinal County first responders, plus Maricopa Police Department K-9 units and restoration of the Maricopa Fire/Medical Department’s historic 1949 fire engine.

Event organizer Rosemary Quesenberry said she and her husband Eddie Rivera, who retired after 38 years with the Seattle Police Department, have distributed about $23,000 to benefit first responders over the past five years. She said 100% of the proceeds go to charity, with no administrative costs held back.

“Over the past six years we have provided funds for the canine units at MPD and funds for an officer’s medical expenses that were not getting paid,” Quesenberry said. “Recently, we’re working on scholarships for first responders’ children and for the restoration of the vintage 1949 Ford fire engine, which is one of the few still in existence.”

The fire truck will be at Sunday’s event, along with K-9 officers from MPD.

Quesenberry said contributions initially went toward the restoration of the fire truck because “that was the need at the Fire Department. It is used community education and outreach.

“If you haven’t seen the truck, it’s absolutely priceless,” Quesenberry said. “It’s so tiny, but it was actually used in the early ’60s.”

In addition to golf prizes for closest to the pin, low team scores and others, the tournament will feature a silent auction as well as an online auction that goes live at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the tournament website above.

Quesenberry said the organization hopes to raise $4,000-$5,000.