Chase Cornell, Tyler West, Cole Kocher, not pictured Peyton Palmer.

Golfers from across the region gathered on Saturday, July 26th at the Sistersville Country Club for the 12th annual Bill Stewart Memorial Golf Tournament, honoring the legacy of one of the area’s most respected coaches and community figures.

The tournament is held in memory of the late head WVU coach Bill Stewart, a native of New Martinsville known for his passion for youth and education. The tournament has become a summer staple in Sistersville, and the proceeds from the tournament support local scholarships in Wetzel and Tyler counties as well as youth activities.

Golfers enjoyed a fun filled day of food, raffle prizes, skill prizes, along with three team winners receiving cash payouts. Three Teams tied with a score of 58 and the winner was determined by a scorecard playoff. Taking first place was the team of Chase Cornell, Tyler West, Cole Kocher and Peyton Palmer. Second place went to team Greg Richmond and third place was team Jeremy Shephard.

All proceeds from the golf tournament go directly to supporting established scholarships, library summer reading programs, youth sports in Wetzel and Tyler County and the Bill Stewart Memorial Scholarship at Fairmont University that is awarded to a walk-on football player in their senior year.

The success of the tournament relies on area sponsors that graciously continue to support the legacy of Coach Stewart each year.

Hole sponsors for the event were Anderson Orthodontics, Bayer Heritage Federal Credit Union, Bob & Pam Newman, Bob Ripley, Dave & Theresa Duke, Ed & Kathy (Buffington) Franklin, Fahey Leavitt Insurance-Nationwide, Gwendolyn Stickler, Jim & Fawn (Potts) Price, Jim & Holly Grobe, John & Cynthia Bailey, Karen Stewart & Blaine Stewart, Loyal Order of Moose 931-New Martinsville, Marble King, Men of Holy Name Society St. Vincent de Paul, Pasco’s Pizza, Quality Aluminum Products, Sistersville Eye Clinic, Stuart Hunter, Ted & Debbie Stewart, Terry Brake, Wayside Furniture, Wesbanco Bank INC, William Witschey and Jason Cozart.

Those sponsors donating items for the raffle were Stonewall Resort, WVU Athletic Department, Pittsburgh Steelers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Karen Stewart and Greg Rustemeyer.

Hot dogs served in the turn of the golf course were sponsored by Certainteed Gypsum and T & L Hot Dogs.

Dennis and Mariann Balcerek of New Martinsville have been the organizers of the fundraising tournament honoring Stewart since its inception 12 years ago. They rely not only on the support of area sponsors, but also the volunteer help of the PEO Chapter U organization in New Martinsville of which Mariann is a long-standing member. Chapter U members donate their time, cooking skills and hosting talents to make the tournament fun for everyone.