For 27 years, the Murray Education Foundation's annual golf tournament brought together community members, businesses and educators in support of one shared goal: helping teachers enhance learning through much-needed classroom grants.

This year, 128 golfers contributed a net total of $33,000, a 25% increase over the previous year.

“This tournament is specifically geared toward teacher grants that elevate student experiences,” said Doug Perry, Murray Education Foundation executive director. “These are things our teachers wouldn't be able to do otherwise without this kind of support.”

This year's tournament proceeds will fund classroom grants of up to $500 each, with teachers applying for specific needs — from educational manipulatives to classroom science projects. In total, 140 grant applications were submitted, totaling nearly $70,000 in requested funding.

“Some teachers ask for flashcards for every student, others for trout eggs for biology projects,” he said. “These grants help fund experiences and materials that bring learning to life.”

The tournament is the Foundation’s largest fundraiser, and with the support from Murray City, golf cart fees were waived this year.

“We couldn't do this without the support of the city and our sponsors,” Perry said. “It really is a community effort.”

This year there were two Gold Sponsors, Hughes General Contractors and Hogan & Associates Construction, each contributing $6,000 — a bump which helped cover rising costs and ensured more money made it directly into classrooms.

This year’s event added a few new features including neck and shoulder massages at the clubhouse and golfers could receive slow-motion video footage of their golf swings, provided by one of the sponsors.

“It was just a fun bonus that some players really appreciated,” he said.

With grant funding just beginning to be disbursed, Perry said teachers are looking forward to giving students hands-on experiences that textbooks alone can't provide. He said in past years, grants ranged from field trips to ukulele instruction.

“As these grants are used, we’ll see their impact across classrooms — often in very creative and inspiring ways,” Perry said.