By Marisa Dawson, Photos by Baylor Detjens

The Bennington Chamber of Commerce kicked off this year’s Bennington Daze festivities with a familiar community tradition in a new role.

For the first time, the Chamber’s annual golf tournament was incorporated into Bennington Daze, serving as the opening event for the community-wide celebration. The tournament, held this year at Stone Creek Golf Course, has traditionally been held later in the summer. It brought together local businesses, sponsors, volunteers, and golfers for a day of fundraising and community connection.

According to Chamber board member and tournament organizer Krisy Byers, the decision to combine the two events was a natural fit.

“Bringing the golf outing into Bennington Daze just felt like the right fit,” Byers said. “The outing has been a long-standing community and Chamber tradition, and Bennington Daze is such an important celebration of our community. Combining the two gave us the opportunity to create more energy around both events, bring more people into the experience, and really kick off the week in a way that felt fun, positive, and community-centered.”

Byers said the Chamber’s primary goal was to strengthen community connections while creating additional excitement around both events.

“At the heart of it, we wanted to create connection,” she said. “Bennington is growing quickly, and events like this give us a chance to bring together residents, business owners, sponsors, volunteers, and community leaders in a meaningful way. It is not just about a round of golf… it’s about building relationships, supporting local initiatives, and creating shared experiences that make a community feel stronger.”

The community’s response to the new format was overwhelmingly positive. Byers said participants embraced the opportunity to see two longstanding traditions come together.

“The response was really encouraging! A new date, a new location… I think people were excited to see two great community traditions come together,” she said. “Our sponsors, in particular, are so generous and community-minded, and many of them were excited to be part of something that felt even bigger this year. There was definitely a sense of momentum and pride around the event.”

Beyond providing a day of recreation and networking, the tournament serves as an important fundraiser for the Chamber’s work throughout the year. Funds raised help support Chamber programs and events while also benefiting Bennington High School scholarships.

“This outing is incredibly important because it helps support the work the Chamber does throughout the year, but it also goes beyond that,” Byers said. “Funds from the tournament help support Bennington High School scholarships, which makes this event especially meaningful. I love that it allows us to support the community now while also investing in its future.”

Byers noted that one of the most rewarding aspects of the event was seeing the level of community support on display throughout the day. “There is a lot of work that happens behind the scenes to make an event like this come together, so seeing golfers having fun, sponsors engaging with the community, and volunteers stepping in wherever needed was really special,” she said. “It reminded me how much people here care about Bennington and about showing up for each other.”

She also emphasized the role community events play in building relationships among residents and local businesses.

“Events like this create space for people to connect outside of their normal routines,” Byers said. “Business relationships grow, friendships grow, and people get to engage with their community in a more personal way. That matters. Strong communities are built through those moments of connection, and when people come together not just to attend something, but to contribute to something.”

Following the success of this year’s event, the Chamber is considering making the golf tournament a permanent part of Bennington Daze, though organizers plan to gather feedback before making future decisions.

“I think this year gave us a lot to be excited about,” Byers said. “It created great energy and helped elevate the outing in a new way. Of course, we always want to reflect afterward and learn from every event, but I do think there is something really special about having the golf outing serve as part of the kickoff to Bennington Daze. Our golfers and the Bennington Daze committees will all get input from a survey to offer feedback for us to make better decisions going forward.”

Looking ahead, Byers said the Chamber hopes to continue expanding the scholarship opportunities supported by tournament proceeds.

“The funds raised from the golf outing help support Chamber events and initiatives throughout the year, and they also help fund Bennington High School scholarships,” she said. “That combination is really important to me because it means the impact is both immediate and long-term. As a Chamber, we have goals to increase and improve the scholarships we can offer and have hopes to provide renewable scholarships vs. one time. We are able to support the community we have today while also helping invest in the next generation.”