ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
The summer months are upon the area, and people are getting outside more often to enjoy the warmer weather.
A popular activity for many is golf, and Saturday, June 27, Seward County United Way is hosting its annual Golf to Give tournament at Liberal’s Willow Tree Golf Course to help raise funds for the organization.
The event is an 18-hole four-person scramble with registration starting at 7:30 a.m. and shotgun starts at 8:30 a.m. Registration can also be done through a QR code on a flyer on SCUW’s Facebook page.
“You are always welcome to have a team and register the day of,” Director Patricia Fierro said. “That would always be welcome.”
Teams of four can register for $500.
In addition to teams, Fierro said she is looking for sponsors for food, carts, holes and hole prizes. Food sponsorship is available at $1,200, cart sponsors are $750, hole sponsors are $400, and hole prizes range from $100 to $500. There will be payouts for the top three in each flight and hole prizes, and lunch will be provided.
The golf tournament is part of United Way’s efforts to create opportunities for a better quality of life and lasting change by investing in solutions that serve the community.
“Whether it be through our food pantry or funding our 12 partner agencies, every cent helps to make this possible,” Fierro said.
Along with the United Way Food Pantry, those agencies include Kids Inc., the Liberal Area Rape Crisis/Domestic Violence Services, Stepping Stone Shelter, Western Kansas Child Advocacy Center, Salvation Army, Liberal Atletico Futbol, Boy Scouts, Liberal Weissel Boxing, Russell Child Development Center, the Kansas Children’s Service League and the Seward County Health Department’s Safety Council.
Golf to Give winds up the first half of 2026, which saw many events for SCUW, including the first ever Taco Libre, a Paint Your Partner fundraiser and a women’s event. Fierro said all of this leads into a great group of events for the year’s second half, including the second running of a successful event in the fall of 2025.
“We will be doing another big community event, our Oktoberfest,” she said. “That one is scheduled for the second Saturday in October in the Downtown Common Consumption Area. We’ll also be looking for vendors and sponsors for that as well. We also have the concession stand at the Health Fair.”
Before then, though, SCUW has a few events happening during the remainder of summer.
“We have our Back to School Fair scheduled in July,” Fierro said. “That will be helping with the free sports physicals for our kids and resources from our agencies and other resources available in the community. That will be around the days of registration for USD 480. With our fan drive, I’m just waiting for them to notify me so we can get those and get those distributed to our community. We’ll make a post on that.”
Fierro said United Way’s agencies are in good shape at this time.
“They’re doing their thing and helping us out when we need,” she said. “I’m really grateful for them and the services they provide.”
SCUW’s most recent event, Taco Libre in early May, saw a good turnout, according to Fierro.
“We had about 3,500 to 4,000 people show up to the event,” she said. “It is already scheduled on the books for next year for May 1. It was a wonderful turnout. There were a lot of things we learned from and saw things worked really well and continue doing and continue improving and making it better for next year.”
This year’s Taco Libre took place May 16, a weekend that also saw Liberal’s Yellow Brick Road Car Show and graduations taking place in Turpin, Okla., Hooker, Okla., and Tyrone, Okla. Fierro said the date for the 2027 event was moved to earlier in May to add to the fun of the community’s Cinco de Mayo celebration and to allow family and friends to attend graduations and other community events.
As for United Way itself, Fierro said the organization is doing well at this time, but there is always room for improvement.
“We have a great board that is very supportive, and we’re doing what we can to make sure we can always generate more funding for United Way,” she said. “We never say no to any donations.”
As for the golf tournament, Fierro said she simply hopes everything goes well.
“We’re hoping to get have a great turnout and it being worthwhile to everyone,” she said.
For more information about the golf tournament, message the Seward County United Way Facebook page on Messenger, call 620-621-1358, or e-mail
Fierro said she is more than ready for June 27 at Willow Tree Golf Course.
“I’m always excited for anything we do,” she said.
