THE 26th ANNUAL SWITZER RED BALOON GOLF TOURNAMENT (Text by Pete Porter, Photos by Pete and Margaret Porter)

The Torrance Switzer Center School & Clinical Services is a school and clinic for children with learning disabilities. It is currently located in a 12,000 square foot facility at 1110 Sartori Avenue on the corner of Sartori and Torrance Blvd. However, they are due to relocate about a mile away at a new 28,000 square foot facility in Anapola Court within a few months and are very thankful for the funds that come from events like the "Red Balloon Golf Tournament" held at the Rolling Hills Country Club this October. The many volunteers that were helping out at this event included several members of RSVP and I was happy to meet with some of them while I walked around the registration area.

The first person I met was our own Lynda Kraemer. Lynda was busy signing in the early arrivals at the registration table when I arrived and, as the tournament included a total of ninety golfers, she was steadily occupied for the first hour-and-a-half. She was sitting next to Switzer Administrator Elizabeth Vega who told me that she had been performing this duty for over seven years. Elizabeth said that there were now about eighty children being schooled at the Center and that everyone is anxious to move into the larger facility within the next few weeks. The school had now been located at Sartori for thirty years and it was high time to grow into a larger facility where the children would be able to have a wider program as well as more space to grow and play.

I then met Board Member David Wilson who informed me that, although he had had some involvement over the past few years he had finally been elected to the Board when a friend of his had moved out of the area and needed to relinquish their position. David introduced me to Executive Director Dr. Rebecca Foo who has been associated with the Center since 1988.

Dr. Foo told me that the school was started in 1966 and moved to the building on Sartori ten years later. The school is certified by the California Department of Education to provide services from Kindergarten through to the age of 22, specifically for children with various forms of learning disability. Their youngest student is currently in the third grade. However, with a staff of thirty five they run one Elementary, one Middle School, one Junior High and five High School classes with no more than twelve students per class. Some of these students also have one-on-one behavioral aid sessions and all students get weekly psychological counseling. An ethnically diverse group, many of the students come from foster homes or from homes at the poverty level. Hence, apart from having a learning disability, many of the students are considered to fall into the multiple high risk category.

Dr. Foo was proud to introduce me to Fran Limbird who has been volunteering at this event ever since 1985. As the tournament only started in 1978, Fran most certainly holds the record amongst all those who were offering their services at this event.

	Two RSVP members were scheduled to arrive during the afternoon. However, I was still able to meet RSVP members Norm Hill and John Heise before I left. Norm and John had been assigned to two of the five "Hole-in One" 3-Par holes on the Rolling Hills course. Prizes for these holes included a 2004 Honda from Scott Robinson Honda, a 2004 Pontiac from Peninsula Pontiac, and two paid vacations. Prizes certainly worth winning! However, I was told that nobody had so far ever won one of these Hole-in-One prizes since the tournament had been run. Maybe this year would be the one!

Ready for the OFF!	And AWAY they went!	Norm Hill stands guard!