The Joe Fortunato Celebrity Golf Tournament will be at Duncan Park on Saturday and Sunday with tee times of 8 a.m. and 1 p.m.

This is one of the few two-day tournaments held in the Miss-Lou area and lunch is served both days along with refreshments throughout the tournament.

It is a four-person scramble — not four men, as we encourage ladies to play.

A tax-deductible donation entry fee is only $125. Most local tournaments charge this much for a half day round and more for a full one day.

The sponsor of the event is the Miss-Lou Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.

This is our only fundraiser in order to raise the money for the $10,000 in scholarships given each February to seven area high school seniors from the seven high schools.

Great River Chevrolet-Cadillac-GMC sponsors a hole-in-one for a car and other prizes.

A prize will be given for the longest drive and a TV set for the closest to the hole.

Every golfer will receive a ditty bag and prizes for each flight — first, second and third places. The awards party is Sunday afternoon with plenty of door prizes to be given away.

The meals are prepared by former Ole Miss All-American and Green Bay Packers Allen Brown and former Ole Miss football player Red Ownes and their crew.

The spouses of the golfers and club members are invited and urged to have lunch both days. As most of you already know, Allen has two Super Bowl rings for the first two NFL/AFL playoff games before it was called the Super Bowl.

In talking about the meals, we would like to thank Mayor Phillip West, the board of aldermen, Recreation Director Ralph Tedder and Duncan Park Pro Marvin Gray for adding the new kitchen at Duncan Park.

This will make the serving of the meals a lot easier. Allen and Red served as our committee.

Bailey Howell, former All-American basketball star at Mississippi State and NBA player for the Boston Celtics, will be one of the celebrity golfers.

Bailey is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame and the Howell Award is given in his honor each year to the outstanding college player in the state.

Noland “Super Nat” Smith, who was a great kick returner for the Kansas City Chiefs, will play again this year. He also has a Super Bowl ring.

Joe Fortunato allows us to use his name and resources to make this tournament a success.

Joe is a chapter member of the Miss-Lou Club and also has a Super Bowl ring, NFL Championship, before it became known as the Super Bowl.

Joe has been selected as one of the seven greatest linebackers for the Chicago Bears in their great and long history.

We feel this is a fun tournament. If you have out-of-town guests coming for the weekend, they would enjoy playing and visiting with the golfers and club members.

Our members would like to have you join with us as a member for only $40 per year.

We meet the last Monday of the month for lunch at the Eola Hotel.

The tournament is limited to the first 200, so work up a team or just enter and you will be put with a team.

Come join the fun, fellowship, great meals and at the same time help us raise the $10,000 for the scholarships.

Anyone who would like to help by being a hole sponsor for $100 or donate items for the door prizes or the ditty bags should contact Catherine Fortunato at 601-442-5481 or me at 601-446-7175.

Tony Byrne is President of the Miss-Lou Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.