All fun and games at Mann Lawyers and Escape Manor’s charity golf tournament

Only a charity golf tournament presented by Escape Manor, in partnership with Mann Lawyers, could turn a day on the course at Loch March Golf & Country Club into a real-life adventure with brain-stumping puzzles, hidden clues and surprises.

Each of the 18 holes offered something different to get golfers working together to solve or strategize before they took their swings. 

“Corporate events can be a little rigid, a little stiff, so the idea was to try and just create a little bit of fun,” explained co-organizer Neil Schwartz, who leads the business law group at Mann Lawyers and is co-owner at interactive entertainment company Escape Manor.  

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The lawyer and entrepreneur is also a community volunteer, serving on the board of local charity ONFE (Ottawa Network for Education). It was the returning beneficiary of Thursday’s fundraiser. The local non-profit organization strives to remove barriers for learning and to prepare local students for success. It runs the School Breakfast Program, Volunteers in Education, Junior Achievement Ottawa, OttawaReads and Classroom Gardens. The School Breakfast Program currently provides more than 22,000 healthy breakfasts every school day to children and youth in Ottawa.

Bank of Montreal (BMO) stepped up as top sponsor for the second annual tournament, which was expected to raise close to $40,000 for ONFE through sponsorship, silent auction bidding and raffle proceeds.

Schwartz’s business partner, Steve Wilson, was the mastermind behind the added puzzles, riddles and games that provided players with a chance to win prizes. There was zero risk of anyone being stuck on the course after dark, still stumped on a challenge. Golfers were given only a limited amount of time to solve them.

Adding a layer of fun at each hole was considerable work, Wilson acknowledged. “I’m smiling and happy now because, although it’s been months of planning, everything is now ready to roll, and I’m elated and proud,” said Wilson of the funds they were raising to help a worthy charity.

Also working hard behind the scenes were Martha Jeacle, marketing and office manager for Mann Lawyers, and Ann Moran from ONFE.

Some of the more popular stations included beer stein pong, a football toss, axe throwing and a challenge that required teams to serenade the bartenders from Manor Lounge with their favourite song. Some teams did musical numbers with choreographed moves while others kept it simple, selecting the ubiquitous Happy Birthday Song or O Canada.

Putt for Potables had bottles of alcohol as targets that golfers tried to aim their golf balls toward. If they got lucky and hit one, they could take the bottle home. There was an expensive bottle of  Clase Azul tequila donated by event sponsor Byron Rental Properties that everyone was focused on.

At one of the holes, golfers had to collect Jenga blocks that were scattered nearby, using the pieces to build the tallest tower. Teams were given one minute to complete the task. The height was measured by the volunteers from RBC using a clipboard as a makeshift ruler.

Unfortunately, the BMO team saw its tower collapse, leaving it with only seconds to rebuild it. That the surface was slightly slanted was an extra challenge, said Sylvain Brisebois, senior portfolio manager at BMO Nesbitt Burns, before adding with a smile:  “What I failed to account for was the 13 per cent angle on the RBC table.”

Among the golfers to thoroughly enjoy herself that day was Haidyn Picco from Royal LePage Performance Marland Realty.  “I’m not an avid golfer, but I love games and I love competition,” she told OBJ.social.

Picco said she’s already thinking ahead to next year about her team’s strategy on the Jenga challenge. “We need to work smarter, not harder.”

Nick Giorgio, vice president of operations at Byron Rental Properties, described the day as “incredible” —not just because of the games and great weather, but also for the charity they were supporting.

“In the end, you have good company and whatnot, but it’s the cause that’s dear to our hearts,” he told OBJ.social. “Being able to put food in the mouths of children at school, or just before school, is for us a win-win. We’re playing golf and we’re also contributing.”

McCay Duff LLP partner Adam Brisson “loved” the day, adding that there was “a little something for everybody” in terms of activities. “As professionals, we attend a lot of golf tournaments, but when it’s for a charity like ONFE, it’s always nice to help and give back in any way we can,” said Brisson.

Following the golf, the good times continued. Everyone gathered for a cocktail reception, with live music provided by The 20th Century Boys, and dinner. The order in which guests were served was, unsurprisingly, decided by a game. The highest scorer of the cornhole toss got to eat first.