Keeping it classic
Mercer County Conference helps make Survivor Golf Classic bigger than ever
■ BY AMBER RAMUNDO
When the Mercer County Conference took over planning the
annual Survivor Golf Classic in 2017, its mission was to not only
keep the event going but to make it bigger than it’s ever been. For
Mercer County Sheriff’s Office Local 187 State Delegate Pat Pap-
ero, that meant spreading the word to every NJ State PBA Local
and law enforcement business partner across the state. The goal:
to draw as much support as possible to benefit the Garden State
Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.).
Garden State C.O.P.S.
2018 Survivor Golf Classic
October 2
Mercer Oaks Golf Course
West Windsor
On Oct. 2, the hard work and diligence will certainly show, when
close to 200 golfers return to Mercer Oaks Golf Course for a char-
ity tournament close to officers’ hearts. The attendance will be so
large that the event will span across not one but two golf courses
in an effort to send a message to the families of fallen officers that
they never are alone.
“I think this year, the message that we’re sending by increasing
the number of golfers is not only that we have their backs, but
we’re not going away,” notes Papero. “And we’re going to continue
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NEW JERSEY COPS
■ SEPTEMBER 2018
to be there for them.”
The Survivor Golf Classic has been a substantive fundraiser for
the Garden State C.O.P.S. for numerous years. When Papero found
out that the organization was going to stop running the tourna-
ment due to how taxing it can be to run, he insisted that the Mer-
cer County Conference take over planning the event.
Former Garden State C.O.P.S. President Lisa Preslar was relieved
to know that the fundraiser would continue. Even after the first
year of handing the task over to the Mercer County Conference,
she noticed a positive difference.
“It’s definitely grown by having the Mercer County Confer-
ence involved,” Preslar confirms. “They have been able to get a
lot more activity going with the golf outing. They know these de-
partments, and they know the guys and can approach them in a
different way.”
Officers and business supporters who attend the tournament
will be able to easily identify the meaning of the event. As they ar-
rive at the golf course, a display of more than 50 flags will show the
faces and names of officers who made the ultimate sacrifice. The
event will make a further impression with the interactions partic-
ipants will share throughout the day with the survivors: parents,
partners and children of those heroes are volunteering to help out
at registration and sit at the holes throughout the courses.
“The majority of the golfers are law enforcement, and it’s being
run by law enforcement,” Preslar explains. “For some (survivor)
families, this event is their connection to law enforcement in a
way they might not have had with their officer’s department.”
Officers and survivors will meet on the golf course for an open-
ing ceremony and a 1:15 p.m. shotgun start. Following the tour-
nament, attendees will gather for a dinner where prizes, auction
items and meaningful conversations will be in abundance, as law
enforcement officers once again show the Garden State C.O.P.S.
that they will always be there.
“This is not a down day,” Papero asserts. “I’m sure there’s ups
and downs for everybody person