CALDWELL, Idaho — Caldwell Mayor Jarom Wagoner on Wednesday presented a check to the St. Luke's Elks Rehabilitation Center in Boise for $55,000.
The rehab hospital's work hits close to home for Wagoner, as he was at Elks for several weeks in 2021 after undergoing surgery for a brain tumor.
During his first State of the City address in March 2022, Wagoner said he was diagnosed with the tumor "literally the day" he filed paperwork to run for Caldwell mayor.
Wagoner also announced a "new tradition" during last spring's speech: the Mayor's Charity Golf Scramble. The money donated to St. Luke's Elks Rehabilitation Center on Wednesday was raised during the inaugural event in August 2022.
"Often times in society, we overlook those things and forget how important these organizations are, like a St. Luke's Elks Rehabilitation," Wagoner said. "The things that they provide for a community in need, you can't put a dollar amount on that ... So, to be able to give back in any shape, way, or form, is a huge thing."
St. Luke's was just the first recipient of fundraising in Caldwell. Going forward, the plan is to have each year's golf scramble be "completely focused" on raising money for a different charitable organization.
The goal is to raise more than $100,000 for the selected organization at the Mayor's Charity Golf Scramble.
"We talked about giving back to our community if I was lucky enough, blessed enough, to be elected Mayor of Caldwell, and we came up with the idea that if that does happen, we're going to start a Mayor's Charity Golf Scramble, raise money every year for a different organization, and definitely that first year, St. Luke's Elks Rehab was on the top of our lists," Wagoner said.
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