A hole-in-one benefits kids with cancer

By Eliezer Rodriguez Bronx, NY Eliezer Rodriguez, Esq., the new association executive officer for the Bronx Manhattan North Association of Realtors (BM-NAR), did not expect that his first, but his Association's 78th Golf Outing, would make history in a Holy sort of way. According to Scott Silberman, 2013 Golf Outing chairman, "No one in the history of our outing has ever scored a hole-in-one." On June 24th, 2013, Rubin Pikus, CEO of Milbrook Properties, did just that and, moreover, he shot a hole-in-one on a contest hole to win $10,000. The news quickly spread from hole to hole of Rubin's incredible feat. After the Outing, everyone made their way to the evening's activities that included a cocktail hour, dinner and BM-NAR's Holy Grail-a fundraiser for Camp Good Days and Special Times. After the dinner, Eliezer introduced his ace-in-the-hole, Mark Engel, President of Langsam Property Services Corp., to run the fundraising portion of the evening. Mark was the sitting president of BM-NAR's board of governors in 1988 when The Camp was chosen as the Association's official charity. Since then, Mark has wholeheartedly supported The Camp and has raised over $250,000 for them. According to Mark: "The Camp is not a place looking for a cure to Cancer. They provide exactly what their name implies---good days and special times to children with Cancer." By the end of the evening, Mark raised $25,000 for The Camp from the BM-NAR members. The highlight of the evening's fundraiser was provided by the star of the day, Rubin Pikus, Mr. Hole-in-One. Rubin decided not to let his winnings burn a hole in his pocket and pledged $5,000 to The Camp. Richard Guarino, President of BM-NAR's Board noted: "All the programs and services offered by The Camp are free of charge to the participants. Tonight, Rubin and Mark made a whole lot of people happy." The next day, after contacting the insurance company, Hole-in-One International, Eliezer commented, "Holy, Moly, what happened last night was a Holy experience. I am so glad we are insured." On Friday, August 9, 2013, at 10:30 am, Mr. Hole-in-one will present a check for $5,000 to Tony Gasparre, Facility Manager for Camp Good Days and Special Times. Mr. Gasparre stated: "On behalf of the children and families we serve at Camp Good Days, we are so grateful for the continued support from the members of the Bronx-Manhattan North Association of Realtors. It is only because of this support that we are able to continue providing our programs free of charge." Rubin Pikus said it best when he said, "My hole-in-one is a hole-for-many. My winnings are going to a good cause and I feel good about that. I want to congratulate BM-NAR for the work it does to help the community. I want to encourage others to be generous because our kids are worth it!" Eliezer Rodriguez is the association executive of BMAR, Bronx, N.Y.