Nearly 130 golfers teed off Aug. 8 at the North Hills Country Club in Manhasset, L.I., for the 18th Annual Bishops’ Golf Classic hosted by the DeSales Media Group, Inc., the parent company of The Tablet.
Despite the threat of rain, it was an enjoyable day, and DeSales would like to thank the 55 tournament sponsors for once again making the event a success.
The honoree of this year’s golf classic was Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, who will mark the 10th anniversary of his installation as bishop of Brooklyn this October. Bishop DiMarzio is the seventh bishop of this diocese, and from now on, the annual event will be named the Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio Golf Outing.
For the second straight year, the proceeds of the golf classic benefited the Diocese of Brooklyn’s Catholic Migration Services (CMS). The directors of the DeSales Media Group presented Father Patrick J. Keating, CEO of CMS, with a check for $100,000.
“You take a look at the Diocese of Brooklyn…it’s the diocese of immigrants,” said Msgr. Kieran Harrington, diocesan Vicar for Communications. “So there’s no better cause to invest our resources than helping people come to recognize their legal status in this country.”
Since 1971, CMS has helped immigrants in Brooklyn and Queens achieve the American dream by aiding them with legal, housing and workers’ rights programs.
“We have many immigrants that need help,” Bishop DiMarzio said. “The diocese has a tradition long before I came of helping establish the migration office. We’re keeping it going, and everybody works together to make sure we are a place of welcome.”
“Without this funding, there would be so many immigrants that we’d be unable to serve,” Father Keating said. “The funding that the DeSales Media Group provides to Catholic Migration Services truly allows us to welcome the stranger to live out the Gospel mission.”
Each year, DeSales identifies a particular need in the diocese and donates the proceeds from the golf classic to that cause.
“Everything we earn from a golf outing, we want to push it right back out in a charitable way,” said Art Dignam, CEO of the DeSales Media Group.
Immigration is a cause very important to Bishop DiMarzio, so that was also a factor in choosing CMS.
“If anyone thinks of Bishop DiMarzio, they think of his concern and his passion for immigrants,” Father Keating said. “He’s been a huge supporter of Catholic Migration Services and the work that we do, but on a national level and in our city, he’s just been a tireless advocate since the beginning of his priesthood, really trying to support those that are forgotten.”
A few special guests attended this year’s golf outing to honor Bishop DiMarzio. Former New York Mets’ shortstop and 1969 World Series champion Bud Harrelson is a fixture at the DeSales’ event.
“I love coming here,” he said. “I love The Tablet and the people involved in it. It’s always a good time here.”
Gil Hodges Jr., the son of Brooklyn baseball legend Gil Hodges, was also on hand, which meant a great deal to Ed Wilkinson, editor of The Tablet.
“He’s (Hodges Jr.) what Brooklyn is all about…the old Brooklyn Dodgers and a tie into the old neighborhoods,” Wilkinson said. “Brooklyn is going through such a period of revival that it’s good to harken back to some of the old days too. You hear Gil Hodges…that means Brooklyn Dodgers and baseball.”
Hodges Jr. actually cut a trip to Florida visiting his sister a day short in order to support Bishop DiMarzio.
“He (Bishop DiMarzio) has done things for the Church that people still don’t know about,” Hodges Jr. said. “He’s a fabulous man and has done things for Brooklyn that I hope someday that everyone comes to realize. I wouldn’t miss this for the world!”
In addition to Bishop DiMarzio, Peter Meyer, the president of the N.Y.C. Market of TD Bank, was recognized at the event. He’s very familiar with the Diocese of Brooklyn having grown up in St. Thomas the Apostle parish, Woodhaven, and attending St. Francis Prep, Fresh Meadows, and St. Joseph’s College’s Brooklyn Campus, Clinton Hill. He’s now a parishioner at St. Charles Borromeo, Brooklyn Heights, and he said he was extremely humbled for this honor.
“For me to be even mentioned in the same sentence as the bishop…he’s a dynamic leader, and he’s done so much for the diocese,” Meyer said. “He really has a good handle on what’s going on and what the needs of the community are.”
In successive years, the Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio Golf Outing will be a constant reminder of the impact Bishop DiMarzio has had on the Diocese of Brooklyn.
