Community Outreach

Pokagon Band, Four Winds Present $100,000 Donation to Beacon Children’s Hospital

January 11, 2024

Four Winds 2023 Beacon Hospital donation — L-R: Jenna Drake, Vice President of Marketing, Four Winds Casinos; Greg Helmkamp, General Manager and Head Golf Professional, South Bend Country Club; Gary Morseau Sr., Vice Chairman, Pokagon Band Tribal Council; Rebecca Richards, Chairwoman of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians; Scott Brewer, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and Community Relations/Security for Four Winds Casinos; Susan King, President, Beacon Health Foundation; Jen Tonkovich, Director of Women and Children's Services for Beacon Health System; Ryann DeMoss, Senior Major Gift Officer, Beacon Health Foundation; Lisa Nichols, NICU Manager, Beacon Children’s Hospital; Tracy Byler, Child Life Specialist, Beacon Children’s Hospital; and Jennafer Sammetinger, PEDS/PICU Manager, Beacon Children’s Hospital.

SOUTH BEND, IN – The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians and its Four Winds Casinos has donated $100,000 to Beacon Children’s Hospital. The donation is a result of the proceeds from the 2023 Four Winds Invitational, which took place at South Bend Country Club. Beacon Children’s Hospital will use the funds for a GlideScope® airway visualization system to help with intubation of patients and two Panda™ Warmers with resuscitation equipment for infant care. The Four Winds Invitational is part of the Epson Tour, which enters its 44^th year of structured competition in 2024 and is the most established women’s qualifying tour in the world as the one “Road to the LPGA.”

“The Pokagon Band is very proud of our continued sponsorship of the Four Winds Invitational and our annual donations to Beacon Health System and Beacon Children’s Hospital, which now total $992,500 over the past 12 years,” said Rebecca Richards, Tribal Chairwoman for the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi. “We would like to thank everyone who was involved in supporting the tournament and helped to make this donation possible including the LPGA Epson Tour, South Bend Country Club and its members, our sponsors, team members, volunteers, and vendors. We are also excited to announce that the 2024 Four Winds Invitational will take place from Friday, August 30 through Sunday, September 1 at South Bend Country Club.”

“We couldn’t be more proud of our Four Winds team members and partners who have worked tirelessly to host a successful tournament every year since the Four Winds Invitational was first established in 2012,” said Clayton Mason, Interim-Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Four Winds Casinos. “2024 will mark the 13^th edition of the tournament and we look forward to another great event in August.”

“We are very thankful for our long-term partnership with the Pokagon Band, its Four Winds Casinos, and all of the donors that have generously supported the Four Winds Invitational over the years,” said Jen Tonkovich, Director of Women and Children’s Services for Beacon Health System. “This collective effort and shared passion for helping others continues to make a difference in our efforts to provide lifesaving and critical healthcare to patients and families in the region.”