CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Buffalo Bills Alumni Foundation connected both alumni and fans for a round of golf on Saturday at Diamond Hawk Golf Course.
Each year, the foundation brings their sponsors and alumni to the golf course to raise money for hundreds of local charities and connects the players with the community they love.
“It’s just an honor for me to play with all these other great players and seeing them all come together for a day like this. It’s just amazing.” said Jeff Nixon, former defensive back for the Bills.
Nixon says he’s proud he never left the community after playing for the team, and raised his family here.
The Bills Alumni Foundation has been around since 1998, and it continues to connect Bills players with the fans that support them.
“They are part of the fabric of this community,” said Joe Ciffa, Event Manager for the Buffalo Bills Foundation. “There’s such a great relationship between the players — and that’s what makes Buffalo special.”
Over 160 sponsors and alumni came out to the course, helping raise funds that the foundation will give back to the community. In the past 20 years, they’ve raised $2.7 million for charities around Western New York.
Saturday’s golf tournament is called The Annual Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Memorial Golf Classic, in honor of the late bills founder, Ralph C. Wilson Jr.
“Ralph would be very proud,” Mary Wilson, wife of the late Ralph C. Wilson Jr. said while attending the event. “He loved the players. He was a great owner and he’s very honored here.”
40 Bills alumni attended the event, continuing on the connection Bills players have with their fans and the community they play for.