Richard Hawkes

The Greater Sun Lakes Community Foundation was created “to enhance the quality of life for the older population in the East Valley, including Sun Lakes residents, in the areas of health, education, and culture.” Our main activity involves awarding many grants to local nonprofits to help further their missions, such as the Sun Lakes firefighters food fund, the Sun Lakes Community Theatre Company and its Children’s Theatre Troupe, the Arizona Rangers and Sun Lakes Posse, Neighbors Who Care, The Crystal Card Project, the Rock, Gem & Silver Club, the Robson Reserve Art Program, and many other Sun Lakes organizations. In order to fund all these grants, the Foundation holds fundraisers, such as our annual Christmas Gala dinner/dance (this year on Dec. 3 at Cottonwood) and the Spring Western Hoedown party, plus selling raffle tickets at the TAD musical concerts performed in the Cottonwood ballroom. In addition, in order to assist the Foundation in its fundraising efforts, many people and local organizations donate through our official website to our three virtual walls: the Legacy Wall, the Donor Wall, and the Benefactor Wall.

As of October 2023, the newest entry on our virtual Benefactor Wall is called The Dirty Dozen, sponsored by a local group of golfers who have decided to commemorate and memorialize several former members of the organization who recently passed away, so the Dirty Dozen Golf Club has presented the Foundation with a very generous donation to help continue its good work in our local community, and their name has been posted on our Benefactor Wall. If you would like to see the Foundation’s virtual walls and to learn more about the Foundation itself and its activities, please go online to slcommunityfoundation.com.

The Dirty Dozen Sunday Golf Club was started around 1990. In the beginning, it was a loose-knit group of men who just showed up on Sundays if they wanted to play. Nothing was really organized, and rarely did 12 men show up, but the name stuck anyway. Each week the game was the same, just play 18 holes, and you could organize your own foursome. Various men participated throughout the years, but many stopped because of age, infirmities, or they moved out of the community, or by their “final departures.” Each Sunday, teams are selected at random and a game is announced. The golf season for the Dirty Dozen is year round but divided into two sessions. The club has twice-a-year social events and activities involving their “significant others,” and a wrap-up social event occurs at the end of each spring golf season. The club plays exclusively on the Palo Verde Golf Course. The current board of directors of the club is Chairman Richard Hawkes, Vice-Chair Ken Ronnfeldt, Handicap and Game Chair Mike Lorimor, and Sergeant-At-Arms Marko Sowa. Perhaps your social group will follow the lead of the Dirty Dozen and consider making your own recognition donation to the Foundation and its charitable work in our Sun Lakes communities through our website, slcommunityfoundation.com.