HRA to Continue a Tradition of Philanthropy, Fun, and Friendly Competition at Annual Golf Classic

For Hampton Roads Academy trustee Marissa Lanier, co-president of the parent-run Navigator Club, the school’s annual golf tournament is “more than just a tradition. It’s an event that brings faculty, alumni, parents, and community members together in support of our school, year after year.”

Hosted by the Navigator Club on the stunning and challenging course at James River Country Club on Thursday, October 30, the 33rd Annual HRA Golf Classic will be a highlight of the social and charitable calendar, not only for the Academy, but also for our friends throughout the region. Blending friendly competition, meaningful networking opportunities, and community spirit across eighteen holes of four-person captain’s choice golf, the tournament will allow participating teams to showcase their athletic talent while furthering HRA’s mission.

Proceeds from this year’s tournament will support upgrades to the HRA Tennis Complex, along with additional needs of the Athletics Department. More than 100 golfers are expected to compete, helping raise funds to provide a superior educational experience for our students.

“Year after year, this event demonstrates the incredible strength and generosity of our community, uniting organizers, volunteers, players, and sponsors to give HRA teams the very best,” said Director of Athletics Laura Stoner. “Thanks to their tireless efforts, HRA Athletics continues to provide top-notch facilities and make meaningful upgrades to training equipment and amenities, ensuring our athletes and coaches have the resources they need to excel.”

A Storied Tradition

A golf tournament may seem to be a natural fundraiser for the athletic booster club of a school with such accomplished golf teams as HRA. Navigator Golf won an impressive 11 TCIS tournament championships between 1985 and 2001 and a state championship title in 2021. Not until 1993, however, was the idea for the HRA Golf Classic born.

Evan Peterson, who had recently joined HRA as Head of School (1992-2002), spearheaded the inaugural tournament, along with then-vice chair of the Board of Trustees Svein Lassen and Board member Ben Williams, as a way to fund a capital-intensive project that exceeded the athletics budget at the time: installing lights on the school’s football field.

As Peterson recalled, “We were talking socially about what we could do for the football program,” in which his son and Williams’ nephew were both players. These informal conversations evolved into an organized fundraiser that would soon become the Navigator Club’s largest and most successful annual initiative. In the more than three decades since its inception, the Golf Classic has supplied invaluable support not only for the football field project, but also for the construction of HRA’s 4,000-square-foot Fitness Center and the purchase of chartered coach buses to transport players on the school’s many sports teams.

After Lassen’s passing in 2006, with tremendous support from his wife Betty Marie and son Lars ’97, the HRA Golf Classic took on new significance as a memorial event honoring the former trustee and Navigator parent. To this day, the annual tournament is dedicated to Lassen’s memory.

Although he oversaw the execution of the Golf Classic for more than 25 years, through its many triumphs and transformations, longtime Director of Athletics (1981-2020) Max Gillespie is quick to give credit to other key players without whom the tournament would not have become the success it is today. Every president of the Navigator Club, Gillespie said, has done “a fantastic job in making the tournament come about and making it work,” as have the Golf Classic chairs, the HRA Advancement Office, and former trustee Debbie Tanner ’70, in her capacity as Director of Alumni Relations (2010-2018).

Carrying on a Proud Legacy

Inspired by this tradition of excellence in promoting HRA Athletics and uniting the Navigator family, the current leadership of the Navigator Club looks forward to surpassing expectations at the 2025 Annual Golf Classic.

The day of fall fun and philanthropy will open with a registration reception at 11:00 am, followed by a seated lunch for golfers. Play will begin with a shotgun start at 12:30 and conclude that evening with an awards reception. There is still time to register as a player or sponsor for the event.

“What excites me the most,” said Navigator parent Meredith Hutchens, who presides over the Navigator Club alongside Marissa Lanier, “is knowing that each dollar raised will be wisely spent to improve the appearance and function of HRA’s athletic facilities.”

Lanier added that she looks forward to making treasured memories with her fellow members of the HRA community. She fondly recalls such highlights of last year’s Golf Classic as pompom-shaking alumni cheerleaders selling raffle tickets on the course, former trustee Larry Pope and his family team decked out in Halloween-themed polo shirts, and golfers spinning the “Beal Wheel,” so named for then-tournament chair Brynn Beal, to win prizes at the tenth tee. The 2025 Golf Classic promises no shortage of similarly memorable moments.

Such fun shared experiences “keep the HRA family connected,” said current trustee and Navigator parent Hank Hankins ’92, who chairs this year’s Golf Tournament Committee with his cousin Catie Ashe ’99. “Spending four hours on the golf course is an easy way to catch up with old friends while contributing to the continued success of the school that was so integral in shaping our lives.”

Director of Alumni Relations Tommy Yevak ’83 could not agree more. When asked what he looks forward to most as he prepares to compete in this year’s Golf Classic, his answer was simple: “It’s the people.” Having played several times with fellow 1983 graduates and dear friends Mark Short, Clay Edwards, and Stuart West, he is excited to add another former classmate and “outstanding golfer,” Ellen Wildman Fiscella, to his team.

“My wife Kathy refers to ‘lily pads’ in life,” the highly anticipated, joyous occasions between which one “jumps,” Yevak said. “For me, the golf tournament has become a lily pad every year.”