HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Ohio University Southern will have its 2019 Bernard L. Edwards Memorial Golf Tournament on Monday at the Guyan Golf and Country Club. This is the 16th year for the event.

“This year’s proceeds will benefit our Greatest Needs fund,” said Stephanie Burcham, director of the Ohio University Proctorville Center and co-director of the tournament, adding the event’s popularity with golfers and sponsors helps the Southern Campus raise funds.

Burcham said community support for the tournament has been strong through the years with four-person teams coming from Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia to compete in the event. Two of the teams, Hall Funeral Home and Quality Care Nursing Services, have a history spanning all 16 years of the tournament.

Sarah Diamond Burroway, OUS’s director of External Relations, Communications and Workforce Success, explained that Edwards was a long-time supporter of OUS and is well-known for helping leverage the land where the OUS Proctorville Center now stands. The property was donated by the Marshal Smith family.

“The story goes that Mr. Edwards and Mr. Smith were out playing golf and they had a conversation about donating the acreage for the Proctorville Center,” Diamond Burroway explained. “And so because of Edward’s long-time support of the Ohio University Southern campus, the golf tournament was founded in his name 16 years ago. We at OUS appreciate the support of the Edwards and Smith families.”

Teams may sign up through Friday for the tournament.

Online registration is available at golf4ous.com. Team fees are $700, which includes green fee, golf cart, a tournament polo shirt, lunch and awards dinner. The tournament has a 1 p.m. shotgun start. Prizes will be awarded for individual and team standings.

Major sponsors for the golf tournament are Giovanni’s Pizza and Mid-American Cleaning Contractors. For more information, call 740-886-7655.

The Greatest Needs fund at OUS is one that is used to support students, faculty and staff. The fund is mainly used to enhance funding in the areas of professional development, travel, supplies, technology and equipment beyond what the university’s operational budget will allow.

“Having this funding source allows us to better support scholarship and research opportunities beyond the limited budgeted allocation,” said Nicole Pennington, OUS dean and interim executive dean for Ohio University Regional Higher Education. “It also allows us to purchase new and innovative technology to support teaching and learning. Funding for higher education has been decreasing over the past several years. This fund allows us to help continue supporting students, faculty and staff as much as we can.”