ROSCOE – Laughter filtering out of the dining room, a festive atmosphere fills the space. A gathering of family and friends coming together to celebrate their champions. It might seem like it’s an exclusive club, but all that you have to do to be a member, is win. And once you’re in the club, you’re in for life, family for life.

 The night before the qualifying round of the 45th annual Sullivan County Democrat Golf tournament, played at the Villa Roma, a dinner was held to honor past champions and commemorate the long and illustrious history of the tournament at the Rockland House in Roscoe. 

The idea for this event, was the brainchild of 10-time tournament winners Sean Semenantz and Joe Winski. Having won the tournament so much, these two have come to feel a sense of gratitude and appreciation of the tournament itself, but also the need to honor and credit those who started it all and continue to make it happen. 

And as we all know, Fred never needs too much convincing to have a dinner or a party, so there wasn’t too much arm twisting involved, and a new Sullivan County Democrat tradition was born.

At the heart of it the dinner is a celebration of people, not only the individuals who played great rounds of golf, but the people who came out and had a great time, and in doing so, made the tournament a success year after year.

As the years go by and we get older, we come to appreciate the people in our lives, more than our accomplishments. We remember those small but meaningful conversations held in the club house, or beside the practice green, moments where we, though connected by the great game of golf, took the time to ask about a loved one or about some personal situation. These memories stand taller, and taller over time, reminders of what is truly important about life; the people we share it with.