THE WOODLANDS, Texas — The 1st Annual Mariner Classic Golf Tournament "Texas Style" sponsored by Tidewater was held at The Woodlands Country Club - Palmer Course in The Woodlands, Texas on Monday.

This year's tournament featured 208 golfers and a beautiful sunny afternoon. Tournament Director Craig Dagan comments "Our first annual tournament in Texas was a huge success. The hospitality of the folks in Houston was above and beyond all of our expectations. Tidewater was our title sponsor for this year's event, and MMA alum Bill Scott was instrumental in making that all happen. Many thanks go to Bill, Tidewater, and the rest of our sponsors. The Woodlands Country Club - Palmer Course is a great golf course with exceptional banquet facilities, and we are very excited about being associated with them for our event."

The group of John Paulsen '86, Wayne Norton '86, Shawn Longfellow '86, and Scott Frost '97 had the best score of all of the alumni groups. The day featured a 50' putt for $10,000, vacation prizes, as well as a tremendous raffle items. Brian Bohlig from the Telemar group had a shot from 169 yards that he hit within 5" to win a $1,000.

Proceeds from the tournament are used to help provide the student-athletes at Maine Maritime Academy with a quality NCAA division III experience. The generous support offered by all is very much appreciated. "It never ceases to amaze us how many friends of Maine Maritime and the maritime industry come out to support these events. We are extremely grateful for all of the support provided, especially from the 29 sponsors for this year's event. The Texas alumni chapter is a fabulous host for our event, and we look forward to seeing everyone again next year. This tournament was a clear indication of the generosity and camaraderie of all the companies involved in the maritime industry. We had Kings Point, SUNY Maritime, Cal Maritime, Texas Maritime, and Maine Maritime graduates here to support our cause" states Dagan.

Maine Maritime Academy athletic director Jim Dyer echoed Dagan's sentiments when he commented to the gathering, "On behalf of our student-athletes, I would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to everyone who participated in the tournament. It is because of your generosity that we can maintain and enhance the experience that our student-athletes have at MMA."

The 2010 sponsors include:

Tidewater - Bill Scott
ABS - Bob Somerville
Faststream Recruitment - Craig Johnson
World Fuel Services - "Bunker" Joe Gowen
L&R Midland - Bill Rocha
EMS Marcon - Jim Molloy
Irving Shipbuilding Inc. - Jack Berglund and Steve Durrell
Tesoro - Tim Plummer
Bay Delta Maritime - Steve Ware
OSG - Morten Arntzen and Eric Smith
Sabine Pilots - Captain Dave Wood
Valve Solutions - John Paulsen
ACES Marine - Steve Clements
A-WAY-OUT Bailbonds - Peter Perrault
Boccard USA - Rob Marchitello
Houston Pilots - Sherri Hickman
Sherri Hickman Inc. - Sherri Hickman
Telemar- Jack Caravello
GL Group - Kara Babb
America United Marine Corporation - Peter Lombard
Crowley - Mike Gasparo
Conoco Phillips - John Derose
Foss - Paul Gallagher
Excelerate Energy - Ed Scott
PON North America - Alan Killion
L&L Oil - George Leiato
Lincoln Electric - Howard Morris
Harley Marine - Harley Franco
Moran Shipping - James Black

Special contributors:

Dick Youcis
Paul Mercer

For more information on the annaul Mariner Classic Golf Tournament, please contact Craig Dagan at 326-2372 or cdagan at mma.edu.

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