79th Annual Golf Outing: We triumph with Trump

By Eliezer Rodriguez 124 golfers, 14 tennis players and 60 additional dinner guests took part in the 79th Annual Golf and Tennis Outing hosted by The Bronx-Manhattan North Association of Realtors' (BMNAR). This year's outing was accentuated by a new venue and two dynamic honorees. The participants rolled onto the exclusive Trump National Golf Club in Westchester on June 16th to enjoy the outing with old friends and with the hopes of establishing new business contacts. One thing is for sure, they all came out to support and celebrate with our two honorees: James Coleman, Houlihan-Parnes Realtors, LLC, as the Outstanding Realtor Service Award recipient and Joseph Mawad, Texniverse, Inc., as the Outstanding Affiliate Member Award recipient. Coleman is a managing member at Houlihan-Parnes. The Houlihan family has played an invaluable role in the rich history of BMNAR. Three generations of the Houlihans have served as president of this association: James A. Houlihan, 1940-41, James G. Houlihan, 1961-62 and Daniel J. Houlihan, 1971-72. James A. Houlihan also served as president of the N.Y. State Association of Realtors (NYSAR). Coleman is an active member of our board of governors and has been very supportive of our efforts to get more involved with the communities we serve. Mawad is the president and sole shareholder of Tekniverse, a full-service information technology firm. Last year, Mawad promised me that BMNAR will have a new server and computer system by the end of December to replace our outdated system. Mawad is a man of his word as he delivered on his promise. Congratulations Coleman and Mawad! BMNAR lucked out this year! The new venue was absolutely incredible, the weather was perfect, the outing was a smashing success, all who were involved in organizing the outing were pleased and we raised over $23,210 for Camp Good Days and Special Times (The Camp). The Camp is our official charity and it strives to give back to children, adults and families what cancer and other life challenges have taken away from them. A big thank you goes out to Mark Engel, president, Langsam Property Services, Corp., and past president of BMNAR, for once again working his magic for the camp. Over the years, BMNAR has donated to The Camp $273,210. Unfortunately, no one at this year's outing repeated what Rubin Pikus did last year. Pikus scored a hole-in-one in a contest hole to win $10,000. I want to point out that Pikus donated all of his winnings to two charities, one of them being The Camp. I want to thank the leadership of the Golf and Tennis Outing for "getting on the ball" to make sure everything ran smoothly: General chairman of Golf and Tennis Outing, Scott Silberman, president, SMS Engineering, P.C., and his two chairmen, Bill Stanley, chief operating officer, Cornell Pace Inc., tennis chairman, and Jim Slattery, senior vice president, Original Energy, golf chairman. I want to thank the members of the Golf and Tennis Committee for the countless hours they gave to planning the outing. I want thank all of our sponsors for their generous support. Finally to the two ladies who work with me, Janine Schall, office manager, and Diane Nogueras, financial assistant, thank you for paying attention to every detail. Well done! Our next major networking event is the 13th Annual Trade Show on October 23rd at the Bronx YMCA, located at 2 Castle Hill Ave., Bronx. It's not too early to call BMNAR at 718-892-3000 and secure your spot. By working with the Bronx Y, we will assist families to send their kids to an after school program, summer camp or even help subsidize a Y membership. What a wonderful way to recycle our money! One more thing, don't forget to invest with RPAC. Eliezer Rodriguez is the association executive of BMAR, Bronx, N.Y.