People sometimes call Copiah-Lincoln Community College the best-kept secret in Natchez.

Co-Lin is not much of a secret anymore. More and more high school and adult students are discovering what a great educational facility we have here.

The Miss-Lou also is discovering not just the educational asset that Co-Lin is, but the economic benefit. The campus employs about 80 full- and part-time staff and serves about 800 full- and part-time students, who have a chance to stay at home and get a great education.

It is no wonder I am proud to serve on the Co-Lin Foundation Board of Directors. As a board member, I see first-hand the needs students have at our Natchez campus. Many students must have some form of assistance to better themselves and go to college. However, not all student expenses are always covered by financial aid and grants. This is where our foundation comes in.

Each year, we give scholarships to several deserving incoming sophomores. I have seen the smiles on their faces as their names are called to receive the scholarships on awards night. We are able to give those scholarships because of fundraisers. The biggest one for the Natchez campus is the Natchez Golf Classic now in its eighteenth year.

We need you to help participate in the tournament even if you don’t play golf. We need to have teams sign up to play. A corporate sponsorship for a four-person team is $550, which includes a hole sign, T-shirt for the players, along with two mulligans for each player.

A player/hole sponsorship is $150, which includes a hole sign, T-shirt, and two mulligans.

A hole sign sponsorship is $75. An individual player is $100 and includes a T-shirt and two mulligans. We have a corporate team trophy and prizes for low gross and low net teams.

The tournament will be Thursday, April 26, at Beau Pre’ Country Club. Lunch and registration start at 11 a.m. with a shotgun start at 1 p.m. Carts are provided for all players.

This is a great tournament, with lots of fun, food, beverages and prizes both on and off the course. Natchez Ford has sponsored the on-course hole-in-one prize and is hoping to give away a 2018 Ford Focus. We also will have other on-course prizes and some great door prizes.

I have heard year after year that Co-Lin puts on one of the best golf tournaments around. It’s true. I have played in the tournament as well as helped the Co-Lin folks at registration.

So, please help. Sponsors already have signed up and players are registering. We would love to have you with us on that day, either in person or in sponsorship. We can e-mail you a flyer or send you one. You can contact Nancy McFarland at Co-Lin by calling 601-446-1215, or nancy.mcfarland@colin.edu.

Bill Salters is senior vice president & CFO of Concordia Bank & Trust Company,  and a member of the Copiah-Lincoln Community College Foundation Board of Directors.