![LEAD Academy students Alexis Simmons, Kelsen Cook and Victoria Forsley pose with professional golfer Bubba Watson at LEAD Academy's first golf tournament. [ALICIA ADAMS | Press Gazette]](http://127.0.0.1/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/ghows-DA-571315db-f351-04fa-e053-0100007f7ff1-9c0472db-scaled.jpeg)
PACE — LEAD Academy, a K4-12 Christian school, hosted its first golf tournament Sept. 15 at Stonebook Golf Club. The event was one of three planned to raise money for construction of a new campus.
Wayne Forbush, a member of the LEAD Academy board of directors, coordinated the event. He collected many items from local vendors for a silent auction that featured gift cards, cooking lessons and condo stays.
Forbush, a retired colonel in the Marines, contacted the local Marine Corps and they donated $2,500 to the school. Sandy Sansing donated a Camaro to give away to a lucky golfer who got a hole-in-one at the tournament. Other sponsors included Rep. Matt Gaetz, former Rep. Jeff Miller, and professional golfers Bubba Watson and Boo Weekley.
All of the money earned from the golf tournament will go toward the Joppa Project — the construction of a new campus on Joppa Road in Pace at the corner of Chumuckla Highway. LEAD Academy is currently located on Berryhill Road.
Additional fundraisers for the Joppa Project include the Parent Fund Drive and the Harvest Celebration.
The annual Parent Fund Drive will be on Oct. 12 at Living Truth Church. A silent auction will begin at 5:30 p.m., dinner will be at 6 p.m. and Sean Dietrich, a novelist who is from the local area, will speak at 7 p.m.
The school will hold their First Harvest Celebration on Nov. 17 at the new campus site. According to Melanie Perritt, director of marketing and assistant administrator, it will be an all-day event.
Contact LEAD Academy at 995-1900 for more information on the events.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: LEAD Academy raises funds for new campus