WEST LIBERTY, W.Va., June 29, 2017 – It was a beautiful day for golf as the annual Lary Loew Hilltopper Golf Scramble teed off at Oglebay Resort this past Monday.
“We are grateful for the support of alumni and the community leaders who step up to sponsor this annual golf tournament. The money raised goes toward the Hilltopper Athletic Club and provides our student athletes with benefits that they wouldn’t have otherwise,” said Head Football Coach Roger Waialae, who hosts the event with the support of Institutional Advancement.
The Hilltopper Athletic Club supports scholarships and other needs of the athletic department and is administered by the West Liberty University Foundation.
Held at the Arnold Palmer Golf Course, it drew 30 teams of four who participated in the scramble named after deceased alumnus Lary Loew, formerly of Wheeling. New this year was the addition of the members of the Pittsburgh Chapter, which formerly held its own golf outing but opted to combine forces this year.
“It was a great turnout and we are especially thankful to the Loew family and their business, The Cornerstone Group,” said Jason Koegler, vice president of Institutional Advancement.
A special feature of the day is the luncheon held at Waialae’s home, located on the Palmer Course.
Other major sponsors include: Northwood Health Systems, Oglebay Park, Progressive Bank and TJ’s Sports Garden Restaurant, which catered the dinner that followed the golfing.
Loew died in 2012 at age 59, after a serious illness and the annual Hilltopper Golf Scramble was then named in his honor to recognize his tremendous love of the game of golf and his alma mater.
Loew studied economics at WLU, graduating with honors in 1975. He was an award winning professional for the Equitable Life Assurance Society (now AXA Financial) and was inducted into the its Hall of Fame. He also founded his own company, The Cornerstone Group, the only full-service employee benefits agency in West Virginia.
Loew was added to the WLU Alumni Wall of Honor – the highest honor the alumni association can bestow on a graduate – in 2011. His sisters, Brenda Thomas, Sharon Saseen, Carol Loew and Lary’s companion Colleen Blon, support and work the golf scramble each spring.
Loew was active in the Wheeling community and served on the boards of the West Liberty University Foundation, Northwood Health System, American Legion Post 1 and the West Virginia Golf Association. He served as commissioner of the Oglebay Golf Gang and was an active member of the Long Cove Club in Hilton Head, S.C.
WLU is a member of the NCAA and MEC and offers a wide range of intercollegiate athletics at the NCAA Division II level, including men’s football, cross country, basketball, wrestling, track, tennis, baseball and golf; women’s softball, volleyball, cross country, basketball, track, tennis, golf and soccer. Most recently the university added women’s acrobatics and tumbling to the mix along with men’s soccer.
For more information or to be placed on the mailing list for the Lary Loew Golf Scramble 2018, please call 304.336.8888.