Last year the outing moved to the country club after years at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course. This year, the annual Friday night welcome party and silent auction won’t be held.

Despite the change, the goal of the tournament and the on-line auction remain the same, said Domestic/Sexual Assault Outreach Center Program Director Leah Bair.

“The events support our homicide and other violent crimes program, which is a program that most people don’t know about until you really need it,” she said. “This program covers 15 counties in north central Iowa and it’s really about supporting families that have been through a horrific, violent crime, whether they lost a loved one due to a homicide, they are going through a funeral process, they’re going through a court process or they might just need some emotional support.”

“That’s what this program supports,” she added. “Again, this is something that you don’t know how to navigate so we’re there to help you do that. That’s what these funds help with.”

-Submitted photo
This Hawkeyes golf set is one of the items available on the silent auction for the Homicide Other Violent Crimes annual golf outing. Only an online auction and silent auction at the Fort Dodge Country Club will be held this year.

Bair said the move away from the in-person party the night before was two-fold.

“We are primarily focusing on our online auction because we have found that most of our supporters have so many things going on and they like to be able to give to us in a way that doesn’t take them away from their families,” Bair said. “The Friday night event was just too much for our staff. We had everyone working so much that night and staying up late and then we asked them to be up super early the next morning.”

Online auction items went live Thursday at 10 a.m. and bidding will continue until Monday at 7 p.m. The site for the online auction is https://HOVCGOLF2025.givesmart.com.

An in-person silent auction at the country club will begin at 9 a.m. as golfers are teeing off and will be closed when the final group of golfers is done playing, usually between 3 and 4 p.m., according to Bair.

Bair said the tournament is at capacity with 42 teams entered, but there is a waiting list if anyone would want to be added. She also encouraged anyone who wanted to support the HOVC program to come to the county club and bid whether they are playing golf or not.

-Submitted photo
This Iowa State basket is one of the items available on the silent auction for the Homicide Other Violent Crimes annual golf outing. Only an online auction and silent auction at the Fort Dodge Country Club will be held this year.

The Homicide/Other Violent Crimes Program was originated by Leonard Fuller in the late 1990s. The HOVC Program went from serving survivors in eight counties to serving 15 counties in 2013. Outreach offices were established in Fort Dodge and Waterloo.

They made the move to the country club last year after several attempts from FDCC Pro Steve Fuller to get the tournament. Leonard Fuller is his father.

“Steve Fuller is a huge supporter. His father was a big, instrumental piece of the Homicide and Other Violent Crimes program getting started,” Bair said.

“The feedback we got after moving was amazing,” said Bair. “The course is super nice and the staff was great. Everything out there last year went so well. It was just a smooth transition to the country club.”

As in past years, several holes will include games for players, including a dice game, closest to the pin and a 50-50 drawing.

Gold Sponsors this year include Ball Plumbing, Utley Quality Air Solutions, Tjaden Electric, Family Bowling and Cargill.

“We’d like to give a big thank you to all our sponsors and donors and all our volunteers,” said Bair. “Ball Plumbing has been a big supporter this year. We’d really like to give a shout out to them.”

Along with the Gold Sponsors, there are several hole sponsors and donations from local businesses and individuals.