In an effort to provide increased scholarships and internship opportunities, the Mississippi State University Department of Communication will host a golf tournament Oct. 18 at the MSU Institute of Golf.
The tournament will fund the Lora J. DeFore Scholarship, which provides students with scholarships to fund internships.
Starting at noon, this event will include a basic golf tournament and several other contests such as a putting contest and a hole-in-one contest. Registration costs $100 per player and $50 per student and will include the greens fees, a golf cart and lunch, a free entry in the putting contest, an MSU Adidas golf polo or a T-shirt for students and more.
There will also be opportunities to win door prizes as well as prizes for the contests, which include a 32” TV donated by WCBI for the putting contest and a car donated by Mitchell Automotive for the hole-in-one contest. Also, there will be a silent auction which will include stays at hotels and rounds of golf at courses around Mississippi.
John Forde, associate professor and head of the Department of Communication, said in the past, this event has raised between $3,000 and $7,000 and usually about 50 to 70 players participate.
“The goal of the golf tournament is not only to raise money, but it also allows alumni who come in for the tournament to reconnect with one another, and it promotes our department,” Forde said.
Volunteers for this event are students within the department, primarily Communication Ambassadors.
According to volunteer coordinator Emily Cain, communication instructor, volunteers are needed to take care of last-minute details the day of the event.  
“Alumni seem to enjoy seeing and talking to the students at the tournament,” Cain said. “Volunteers are vital to the event running smoothly.”
The golf tournament, whose sponsors include Kroger, McAlister’s, and Aramark along with many others, has three sponsorship levels —gold, bronze and silver. 
Paige Crane, senior communication major, is an intern with the communication department. She gathers sponsors, door prizes and literature on the tournament as part of her internship responsibilites. She said she is excited to be able to work on the tournament as it offers her experience related to her field.
“The tournament is a major part of the department. I feel like it creates community for the university by bringing people from such diverse departments together,” Crane said. “I absolutely love working for the department and being able to give back to the thing that already has and will have the biggest impact on my life.”