Join us for our annual SYNKOA Golf Tournament, benefiting the UWNAA Scholarship Fund!
This year we’ve made a slight change to our tournament. No, it’ll still be the same fun filled day wit
h friends at the Bellevue Golf Course and an Awards Dinner following at the Mandarin, but we’ve added hole sponsorships. This may not mean a lot to us but it can make a huge difference to a UW student receiving one of our UWNAA scholarships. Here’s how it’ll work. Simply sponsor a hole for $150 and your name will appear on a sign at the hole and your donation will go to scholarships. Something you may want to consider is to sponsor a hole in memory of a loved one or special friend who has passed away. Honor that person and both names will be printed on the sign which will read “This hole sponsored by _______in memory of ________. “
The proceeds from hole sponsorships will be used to benefit the University of Washington Nikkei Alumni Association (UWNAA) scholarship program, to assist Japanese American students gain an education at the University of Washington. Although hole sponsorship is a new feature this year, the SYNKOA GOLF TOURNAMENT has always been raising funds through optional donations. As the name implies, donations are optional and are not required to participate in the tournament. Donations are not imbedded in the registration fee or in the cost of the dinner at the Awards Banquet. Through optional donations, last year’s tournament raised $4361 making it possible to pay for one scholarship and more. Hole sponsorship is being offered as an additional choice to financially support the scholarship fund, but either way, through hole sponsorship or the optional method, your generosity is greatly appreciated to continue the SYNKOA legacies.
And what are SYNKOA legacies? First is education. In the 1920s local Issei community members, aware of the value of higher education for the future of their children, purchased a house near the U of W campus as a place for Japanese American students to live while attending the UW. The Japanese American student’s organization and the students living at the House before WWII were known as the University Students Club. A name change was made after WWII when in 1946, the student organization and the House were renamed SYNKOA, a name coined from the last names of University Students Club students who fought and died in WWII. SYNKOA resembled a Japanese American fraternity. In 1962 the SYNKOA organization disbanded, the SYNKOA House was sold and a scholarship fund was created with the proceeds. The scholarship fund was managed by a corporate non-profit organization comprised of former SYNKOA students which over time evolved into the present day University of Washington Nikkei Alumni Association (UWNAA). Golf is the second SYNKOA legacy. Former SYNKOA students with a reputation for fun, organized and held their first SYNKOA Golf tournament in 1981. Education and golf, two legacies that pair well.
We are deeply grateful for your generosity and loyal support making it possible to ensure that the SYNKOA legacies live on. We wish you the best at the SYNKOA GOLF TOURNAMENT.
Tournament Committee: Beth Kawahara, Jean Deguchi, Don Maekawa, Ron Nobuyama, Cho Shimizu
To sign up for the tournament, download the sign up form: Synkoa Golf Invitation 2017
To sponsor a hole, please download the form: Synkoa Sponsor a Golf Hole Form
