A LONGSTANDING TRADITION CONTINUES
IN THE NORTHEAST METRO
VHEDC Presents: The 2020 Keith Warner
Memorial Annual Golf Tournament
I
f you have lived and worked in the
Twin Cities’ Northeast Metro for
some time, chances are good you
have heard the name Keith Warner. He
served as VHEDC’s Executive Director
from 2008 to 2013.
Over the years, Warner, who made
his home in White Bear Lake, was
bestowed numerous awards for his
outstanding commitment to community
service, including having the Mayor of
White Bear Lake declare Nov. 25, 2013
as “Keith Warner Day,” just two weeks
before he died of brain cancer at the
age of 78.
The organization he led for his final
five years has also honored him in a
big way. Since 2014, VHEDC’s annual
golf tournament has been named
in his honor. The 2020 Keith Warner
Memorial Annual Golf Tournament will
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Northeast Metro Business
be held on Monday, June 29, 2020,
at the White Bear Lake Yacht Club,
located at 56 Dellwood Avenue in White
Bear Lake. The event will feature an
18-hole, 4-person scramble, a welcome
reception luncheon and team photos,
plus a dinner programs where awards
will be handed out.
the goal has remained the same. “To
create fellowship and provide business
leaders in the area an opportunity to
network, meet new people and to get
to know each other better,” he said.
For the tenth year in a row, the event
organizers are Kevin Whelan and Megan
Willcoxen, the President and Vice
President of Peoples Bank Midwest of
Vadnais Heights. “In 2010, Keith Warner
came to me and asked if I would get on
the golf committee. I asked if Megan
could help us since she is very good at
organizing these kinds of events. Since
then, Megan and I have taken over
running the tournament,” said Whelan. Last year, 144 golfers participated
in the event. Like in past years,
there will be plenty of sponsorship
opportunities in 2020. A $2,500 Eagle
Sponsorship includes a free foursome,
a $1,500 Birdie Sponsorship includes
a foursome at a 1/2 discount, a $500
Bogey sponsorship includes a foursome
at a 1/4 discount; and a $300 hole
sponsorship provides companies with
signage at the hole they sponsor. The
sponsorship fee paid covers green fees,
use of a cart, forecaddies, lunch, dinner
and drink tickets.
Not much has changed about the
tournament in ten years. Whelan says “As a sponsor you have the opportunity
to be out on your hole the day of the