Raising Money for a Very Worthy Cause
On Thursday 19th August 2021 we hosted our annual charity golf day, The Peter John O’Toole Cup, which had been cancelled (like most things) in 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Held at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, it was a very special day. As well as celebrating the life of our company’s founder, Peter O’Toole, it was a chance to get together and celebrate life in a social setting, something we’ve not been able to do, at least on this scale, for the past 16 months.
The event was a huge success. 21 teams of 4 golfers played 18 holes using the popular Texas Scramble format, and with the support of family, friends, and the RMS team we managed to raise a total of £6,000 for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Wales. We fully support the work that the DofE Award does to support young people, and it is more important than ever before because the younger generations have been hit particularly hard by the economic fallout of Covid-19.
Weather-wise, you never know what to expect in Wales, and contrary to the weather app’s gloomy forecast, after a light drizzle of rain in the morning, the sun made an appearance in the early afternoon and became brighter and warmer as the day went on.
Winners and… winners!
With the event being a team event for the first time ever, we littered the course with a variety of individual competitions to keep things interesting. Our longest drive winners on the 2nd and the 18th were Dave Edmunds and Alex Richardson. We had 5 Nearest the Pins! Congratulations to Steve Arwadine, Paul Agland, Gareth Watts, Neil Challinor and Paul Doherty for being so clinical on the Par 3s!
The Celtic Manor also set up camp on the 7th (Par 3) with a challenge of their own. £10 entry, £5 of which went straight into the charity pot. Simple rules, land on the green and win a free round at the Celtic. Out of 88 entrants on the day, we managed to hit the green 61 times! A 69% success rate means our fantastic players on the day will be playing at the Celtic again very soon!
The prize everyone wanted to win was parked on the easiest hole on the course… the par 3 16th. The beast of a truck was kindly sponsored by Moncloa and David Spear Commercial Vehicles. Sadly, nobody managed the famous hole in one challenge this year - but there’s always next year…
The winning team of the 2021 Peter John O’Toole Cup was Team Moncloa (Kris Agland, Joe Roblin, Paul Ragan, and Paul Agland), who scored an impressive net 17 under par. Every team deserves a shout out though, as everybody played well; even the lowest-scoring team (Edmundson Electrical!) came in at net 5 under par.
Special Guests to Bookend the Day
The round of golf started at 11 a.m. and an hour before, all of our guests were treated to a mesmerising and hilarious show courtesy of Geoff Swain, the former World Golf Trick Shot Champion. Geoff showed us how easy golf really is, while entertaining us with his skills. Once the round started, he toured the golf course to give some tips and pointers to the players.
After the golf, rugby legend Sam Warburton delivered an insightful Q&A session on his amazing career, the British and Irish Lions, and his thoughts on club and Welsh Rugby.
Thank You to Our Sponsors
We would like to thank all of our amazing sponsors who helped to make the day a huge success: David Spear Commercial Vehicles, Edenstone Homes, Edmundson Electrical, The Moncloa Group, AJM Embroidery, and Glaçon. Thanks for all of your support, for providing the bright green polo shirts that ensured no one got lost on the course, and for all the quality prizes.
Celebrating Life
It has been a very strange year-and-a-half, but it’s memorable days like these, where we get to have fun and enjoy ourselves with friends and colleagues, that enable us to remember how good life can be. It doesn’t get much better than being outside in the sunshine, having a laugh, and raising money for a worthy cause at the same time. It is one of the highlights of our year; we hope everyone who joined us in 2021 enjoyed themselves, and we look forward to seeing you at next year’s event.
Daniel O'Toole, CEO of RMS, said, “Dad would have loved it! He set up the John O’Toole Cup in memory of grandad (Peter’s father). So when dad passed and Connah and I decided to keep the tradition going and engrave his name on the trophy, we always wanted to improve it every year. With us not being able to do it last year, we certainly made up for it this year! It was by far the best day I have ever experienced - and made even more special by such amazing company all day. People have been longing for a day like this, and we were all able to get out there and have some fun, celebrating life, and raising funds for charity. It will definitely be a challenge to top it next year - but we love a challenge!”
A message from Ian Gwilym - Senior Relationships Manager, DofE Wales:
“What a day... simply the best charity golf day ever! RMS took the event to a whole new level and it was superb. Thank you for being so generous and kind in choosing DofE Wales as the sole beneficiary of the event; it was overwhelming. I thought the Celtic Manor did a superb job; the course, clubhouse, food, and most importantly the staff were all so pleasant and helpful. To manage 40 buggies setting off for an 11.00 a.m. start was impressive. Thanks again for supporting the DofE in Wales and for delivering an event that went straight down the middle!"
And finally, a message from Stephanie Price, DofE Director Wales:
“Ian has just filled me in on what a fantastic day it was and I wanted to add my thanks. It sounds like you pulled out all of the stops for us and did the DofE proud. Irrespective of the funds raised, the opportunity to have such a high profile with key Welsh businesses is priceless. We have been very lucky to have your support over the past few years and it is so inspiring for us as a team to know that, even after a year of so many challenges, there are still amazing people like you who share our passion for the DofE."
