Rochester, NY: The other week, New York Photonics celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Annual WNY Optics Golf Tournament at Shadow Lake Golf Club. To date, the WNY Optics Golf Tournament has raised more than $360,000 for Golisano Children’s Hospital. Money raised at the event goes to pediatric care.
“To raise money for Golisano Children’s hospital. It is not only a way to thank them for saving my life more than once, but for saving the lives of millions of children… It wouldn’t be possible without all these golfers and all these companies coming together,” said Amanda Schulmerich, the daughter of WNY Optics Golf Tournament founders, Ron and Diane Schulmerich, and the inspiration for the event.
The WNY Optics Golf Tournament was created by Ron and Diane to give back to Golisano Children’s Hospital and the community. Even after 20 years, the event is still a highlight for the optics community.
“Great event as usual, three golf courses, with company reps from all around the U.S. [The Annual WNY Optics Golf Tournament] is a wonderful opportunity to connect with friends and colleagues, catch up on what is happening, and NETWORK. Networking always results in serendipity, and we learn things that have not been announced yet or made it to the press,” said Thomas Battley, Executive Director at New York Photonics.
New York Photonics and the optics industry are intertwined with Monroe County. 1 in 14 households are supported by the industry and they make over $3 billion in annual sales. The tournament is a unique opportunity for the optics community in WNY to take a step away from the lab and come together to support each other.
“I think [the WNY Optics Gold Tournament] went great! We started out with just one course and that filled so fast that we added the second course. The Optics community as a whole is so generous. 288 golfers and including the volunteers over 300 people showed up for the Happy Hour that concluded the day,” said Danielle Bechtold of Optipro, one of the event’s organizers.
For more information on New York Photonics, visit us at https://newyorkphotonics.org/. You can also find us on Twitter.
About New York Photonics:
New York Photonics is a not-for-profit organization founded to promote and enhance the New York State optics, photonics, and imaging industry by fostering the cooperation of business, academia, and government.