More than eyebrows will be raised about the success of the 3rd Annual Mayor's Invitational Golf Tournament.

Thanks to the most successful tournament yet, a desperately needed re-shingling of the roof of the Cochrane and Area Humane Society will begin in mid-August

Held on July 24, the tournament raised an astounding $94,850. That's the highest amount raised yet, although the other two weren't that shabby either. Both of those generated over $80,000 for other worthy community causes.

CAHS executive director Janine Rossler says it was humbling for the humane society to be selected as the benefactor of this year's tournament. Judging by the state of the shingles on the roof, it couldn't have come at a better time.

"They are peeling up after 16 years," says Rossler. "There's quite a bit of wear and tear on the roof and in the building itself. It is a very busy, busy area with hundreds and hundreds of animals going through as well as people for our many programs and services, so the repair and maintenance needs are pretty high.

She says they couldn't have done this vital project without the support of the invitational.

The job is expected to cost about $60,000 and that will allow the surplus funds to be used for other essential projects in the facility.

Rossler praised the entire tournament committee.

"It was such a fun day," she says. "This planning committee did such an amazing job. They were professional. They were engaged, and they were super fun, too. They were so committed to this project. The mayor has a great group of people around him to put this tournament together."

Mayor Jeff Genung was quick to agree.

"We couldn't have done this without the teamwork of all the group behind me here," he says.

When deciding where the funds should go this year, he took in a tour of the humane society building with Janine.

"Janine mentioned a few of the programs that have been hit hard by COVID and the need for a new roof. And I thought, yep, this is it. So it just clicked and that was the beginning."

Mayor GenungMayor Genung cuddles a puppy in advance of the donation photo.

Genung isn't a stranger to the humane society and had a little fun talking about the dog he adopted back in 2018 that's grown to be about three times larger than he anticipated.

"Well, they're very good at, 'here's a puppy to hold', and then you can't let go. So, yeah, I still have Bentley at home. He's a handful now at 125 lbs., so when you're adopting from the Humane Society, make sure you check all the boxes on size and everything," he chuckles.

"I think they said he'd be about around 40ish pounds, but it's just an estimate, of course. They don't know all of the heritage of the dog, so we're so happy with our pet."

Janine joined in on the fun.

"Now we're just telling everyone it could be 1,000 lbs. or somewhere under 1,000 lbs." 

Kidding aside, Janine praises the town for the incredible support provided to CAHS over the years.

"The Town of Cochrane and Mayor Genung have been so supportive of our organization, really, since the very beginning. We celebrate 25 years of the Humane Society this year and the Town of Cochrane has been with us every single step of the way.

"Being able to help with putting on a new roof so that we can continue sheltering the amazing animals of our community and continue to support the animals and people of this incredible community means so much to us."

The humane society was highly visible at the tournament. They had a puppy station so people could come and see and do some puppy cuddling and see what was being supported.