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LAPLACE — Industries from the River Parishes came together last week for Marathon Petroleum’s 24^th annual St. John United Way Golf Classic, generating approximately $160,000 for education initiatives and storm recovery within the community.

Held at Riverlands Golf & Country Club, the tournament saw participation from more than 200 golfers and 40 food vendors.

Winners were as follows:

First Place – USA DeBusk (Mike Henschen, Mark Estep, Ken McDonald, Dee Green)

Second Place – Brown & Root (Chase Fovargue, Tim Achord, David Measley, Craig McCleerly)

Longest Drive – Travis McClung- Marathon

Closest to the Hole – DJ Wesley- Evonik, Jason Smith

“By Marathon hosting the tournament, it allows so many of our other community partners to get involved,” said Dolores Montz, executive director of St. John United Way. “The St. John industries are able to come together to support St. John United Way. By them doing that, it allows us to invest in other community action programs.”

Montz said education will be a major focus moving forward. She hopes to raise awareness of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, a fully-funded program that provides one free, age-appropriate book each month for all St. John Parish children from age birth to 5.

According to Montz, St. John United Way supports not only STEM initiatives, but also STEAM, which is inclusive of the arts.

Another big focus area is food security. Montz said St. John United Way is committed to helping agencies including Second Harvest, St. John Ministry of Care, and Health and Human Services.

St. John United Way additionally serves as the fiscal agent for the St. John Parish Long-Term Recovery Group, which has welcomed more than 5,300 volunteers from 42 states and six countries include the parish to assist with the rebuilding of more than 600 homes in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida.

Marathon Petroleum has been active in the long-term recovery efforts along with New Wine Christian Fellowship in LaPlace. During last year’s Golf Classic, Marathon unveiled its “Brighter Tomorrow” campaign, which has to date provided nearly $3 million in community investments, grants and workforce development driving community and sustainability.

Marathon spokesperson Iman Montgomery said, “Our No. 1 focus has always been St. John Parish. Giving back to United Way allows us to help individuals in St. John with public education and housing. We are so happy to be a part of that process.”

The Golf Classic also included an $1,800 check presentation from Entergy to St. John United Way. Florence “Flo” Dumas, Entergy’s Customer Service Manager for the River Region, said supporting United Way is part of the company’s mission to “power life” by creating sustainable value for customers, employees, communities and owners.

“It’s a pleasure volunteering for St. John United Way events,” Dumas said. “I serve on the Board of Directors with United Way. United Way will utilize grants opportunities for educational programs and local needs such as the Second Harvest Food Bank.”

According to Montz, 95 cents on the dollar of all donations stay in St. John Parish, while the other nickel nickel supports other United Way organizations, which often band together to help one another in times of natural disasters and other hardships.

Sponsors of the 24^th annual St. John United Way Golf Classic included the following:

Platinum – Marathon Petroleum Company LP, Air Products, Bartlett Group, Brown & Root, Cajun Industries LLC, Denka Performance Elastomer, Diamond Refractory, Evonik Corporation, Excel Modular Scaffold, IMS, Nalco Water – An Ecolab Company, Performance Contractors Inc., Sage, Enviro Tech, Settoon Construction Inc., Shell Catalysts & Technologies, Sigma Engineers & Constructors, Stronghold, Swat Services, The Mcdonnel Group, Topsoe Inc., Usa Debusk

Gold – Becht, Honeywell UOP, Integrated Power Services, MS Benbow & Associates, Quality Bolt & Screw, S&B Engineers And Constructors, Spectrum Credit Union, The Okonite Company, Total Safety, United Rentals

Silver Sponsors – Air Liquide Large Industries, Alfred Conhagen Inc., Analytic Stress Relieving Inc., Buddy B’s Restaurant, Burns & Mcdonnell, Dupont, Entergy, Epic Piping LLC, Guzman’s Machine Works Inc., Hargrove Engineers, IEMS, Industrial Thermal Services, Ingram Barge Company, Irisndt, ISC Constructors LLC, Keystone Engineering Inc., Louisiana Federal Credit Union, Onpoint Industrial Services, Pot-O-Gold, Powell Electrical Systems Inc., Quantix, Regions Bank, Repcon Inc., Rev Business, RSAW, Southern Chem Industries, St. Charles Printing, St. John Parish Sheriff’s Office, Stewart Construction LLC, Structural, V.J. Rollo Security, Valero, Waste Pro, Wholesale Electric Supply

Food & Beverage – Apache, Brown & Root, Cajun Industries LLC, CDR Industries LLC, Code Red Safety, Community Coffee, Cust-O-Fab, Deep South, Diamond Refractory Services, Duck’s Ice Epic Piping LLC, Evergreen, Excel Modular Scaffold, Gaubert Oil Company Inc., Geo Heat Exchangers, Hargrove Engineers, HPC, IEMS, Louisiana Federal Credit Union, Performance Contractors Inc., PTS Advance, Sage Enviro Tech, Settoon Construction, Sigma Engineers And Constructors, Spectrum Credit Union, Superheat, Swagelok Louisiana, Swat, TMA Environmental / Clean As New, Total Safety, USA Debusk