New auction added to Bowers golf invitational

Matt Maloney and Phil Madore, BIPTA Golf Tournament committee. Absent from photo: Jodie Mosher-Towle and Jan Rodrigue. Matt is holding the Bowers Invitational PTA (BIPTA) Golf Tournament trophy, which goes to the school whose foursome has the lowest combined score. The school has it on display for the school year. Courtesy photo. - Contributed Photo

Local celebrity Corey Wry, of Corey’s Catsup and Mustard restaurant, will serve as auctioneer at the Bowers Elementary School PTA’s first live auction fundraiser on Saturday, May 7. Catsup and Mustard restaurant was recently featured on the Food Network show “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.”

“It’s always nice to give back to the schools,” said Manchester native Wry.  The PTA auction will be Wry’s first time as an emcee, which he decided to do as “something neat to try.”

The auction follows the fifth annual Bowers Invitational Golf Tournament at Twin Hills Country Club, located at 199 Bread and Milk St., in Coventry. Tee times start at 9 a.m. and cost $100 per golfer, which includes 18 holes of golf, use of a golf cart, lunch and dinner.

Non-golfers are invited to the buffet dinner and cash bar, starting at 5:30 p.m., at the Elks Lodge, 30 Bissell St., in Manchester. The cost is $20 per person or $35 per couple. In addition to the live auction, there will be a silent auction and raffles. Items include entrance passes to attractions across the state, Rock Cats tickets, photography and paintings by local artists, and much more. “It’s a fun, affordable night out,” said Jodie Mosher-Towle, president of the Bowers School PTA.

Money raised by the golf tournament, live and silent auctions will be used to provide enriching events and other school activities for students at each of Manchester’s schools. The funds will be divided among the PTAs, based on the school identification of the participating golfers and dinner attendees. “We do a little bit of fundraising, and a lot of community events,” explained Mosher-Towle. This past winter, the free chess club at Bowers was considered a great success, with nearly double the number of students participating than anticipated.

Bowers PTAis a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and all donations are tax-deductible. For more information, visit the Bowers Elementary School website at bowers.ci.manchester.ct.us and click on PTA.  To register for the golf tournament, contact Matt Maloney at 860-966-9174.  Bowers PTA President Jodie Mosher-Towle may also be contacted at Jodie@NorthPond.net for additional information.