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Campaign chair to tee off for kick-off

Pete Schownir, chair of the 2014 Huntington County United Way campaign, will unofficially kick off the new campaign with a marathon 81-hole golf day on June 23.
Pete Schownir, chair of the 2014 Huntington County United Way campaign, will unofficially kick off the new campaign with a marathon 81-hole golf day on June 23. Photo by Cindy Klepper.

Originally published June 16, 2014.

The unofficial official kick-off to the 2014 Huntington County United Way campaign is one that will leave campaign Chair Pete Schownir dragging.

In fact, he's already scheduled a visit to the chiropractor midway through the day and a massage for the next morning.

Schownir is taking his favorite leisure-time activity and turning it into a marathon, setting out to play 81 holes of golf on six golf courses in one day.

He plans to start out at Dogwood Glen Golf Course, in Warren, at 6:30 a.m. on Monday, June 23, and hit the last course, Norwood Golf Club, about 5:30 p.m. If all goes well, he should finish up his marathon day of golf about 7:30 or 8 p.m.

Schownir is no stranger to marathon golfing, but this beats anything he's done before. The most he's played in one day is 54 holes at a Youth for Christ event, all on one course.

"But this is the United Way of Huntington County," he says, emphasizing the "Huntington County." "I said, let's go all over the county. So I picked one of the longest daylight days of the year."

Schownir plans to play rain or shine, but he'll call it off if he runs into lightning.

Schownir's epic day of golf is the first fund-raiser for the 2014 United Way campaign. The formal campaign kick-off is Aug. 27, when the 2014 goal will be announced.

He's already lined up some sponsors, and he's continuing to look for pledges. The most common pledges, he says, have been a specific donation per hole. But he's also had some creative pledges.

One person, he says, has pledged $200 per eagle. Another has pledged $500, less the total number of shots Schownir takes.

"That kind of keeps me motivated to finish strong," he says.

Schnownir's likely to have a low final score - he says he has a 4.2 handicap index. He's been the Huntington County senior champion for three straight years, and he's also won the regular division in the Huntington County Amateur in the past. He's now playing in state senior tournaments.

"I have a buddy trip coming up in July," he says. "I'll be playing 36 a day for three days.

"So, yeah, I like to play."

Schownir says "Pete's Tour FORE United Way" fulfills a long-time goal.

"This is something I've always wanted to do in some form, a golf marathon," he says.

UTEC is the title sponsor for the event. Additional sponsors are Kline CPA; the DeLaney, Hartburg, Roth and Garrott law firm; Ted and Janet Bendall; Johnson Junction and Our Sunday Visitor.

Anyone who wants to make a pledge can do so on the United Way website, wwwunitedwayhuntingtoncounty.org, or by calling the United Way office at 356-6160.

Complete caption: Pete Schownir, chair of the 2014 Huntington County United Way campaign, will unofficially kick off the new campaign with a marathon 81-hole golf day on June 23. Schownir’s 2014 kick-off comes as the United Way is distributing grants from funds raised in the 2013 campaign.