12th annual golf tournament honors father and raises money for Dana Farber

Aug. 12, 2020 | Sarah Heinonen
sarah@thereminder.com

Tom Cosenzi, founder of Tommy Car Auto Group and namesake of the Tom Cosenzi Driving for the Cure golf tournament.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo

LONGMEADOW – On Aug. 17 golfers from around the Pioneer Valley and beyond will come together for the 12th annual Tom Cosenzi Driving for the Cure tournament.

The tournament honors its namesake, Tom Cosenzi, who started the Tommy Car Auto Group. Cosenzi died of brain cancer in 2009 and his family organized the golf tournament in his name.

The day includes 18 holes of golf, as well as on-course activities, a cocktail reception, gourmet dinner, drawings and silent auctions. The funds raised support the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute Center for Neuro–Oncology, and its clinical director, Dr. Patrick Wen who treated Cosenzi.

“It’s nice to be able to keep the legacy and celebrate our dad and it’s nice to be able to provide Dr. Wen with the money,” said Carla Cosenzi, Tom Cosenzi’s daughter.

Despite the Cosenzi family and the Tommy Car Auto Group being mostly located in the northern Pioneer Valley, the tournament will be hosted at the Twin Hills Country Club in Longmeadow. Cosenzi said Twin Hills was the only venue that could accommodate the golf tournament and the following dinner.

“My dad also lived in Hampden and had a lot of friends in the Springfield area,” Cosenzi said, “and we thought it was important for people not to have to travel around.”

Cosenzi said, “[The tournament] won’t look like it has in the past.” It usually draws up to 350 people. Due to the ongoing pandemic this year, golf is limited to 144 people with an additional 35 attendees at the dinner. Registration will be staggered and instead of the two tee times, there will only be one scramble. There will also be plenty of hand sanitizer, hand washing stations, and the carts will be sanitized. At dinner, tables will be placed 6 feet apart and only six guests will be seated to a table. All of these changes are intended to ensure the event stays within the state guidelines.

“We have a responsibility to make sure everyone is safe,” Cosenzi said. She added that they weren’t sure how many people would want to attend in light of the pandemic, but they were pleasantly surprised.

“The response was so much stronger than we anticipated,” she said. While golf is sold out, Cosenzi said there were still plenty of opportunities for sponsors, donations and volunteers.
In an average year, the fundraising goal is about $150,000, though they usually raise more. “I’m really proud to say we hit $1 million last year,” Cosenzi shared about the tournament’s cumulative 11-year total.

“This year,” Cosenzi said, “whatever we can raise, we’re grateful for.”

The Twin Hills Country Club is located at 700 Wolf Swamp Rd., Longmeadow. For more information on the tournament, visit www.tomcosenzidrivingforthecure.com. Registration and donations can be made at www.jfgolf.org/tomcosenzi.

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