BENNINGTON, Vt. — One hundred and twenty-six golfers hit the Mount Anthony Country Club greens, helping Coggins Auto raise $50,000 for the Cancer Center Community Crusaders. 

 

Coggins Auto Marketing Director Valerie Harrington said the tournament, which was held on Aug. 29, continued a tradition of community-driven giving.

 

"At Coggins, we believe in taking care of our people and our community, whether that means supporting youth, families, or local nonprofits," she said. "Being a positive force doesn’t always have to mean big numbers; whether it's $20 or $20,000, it all makes a difference. As a local business, we feel a responsibility to give back. You can’t expect your community to 'support local' if you, as a business, aren’t doing the same."

 

Harrington said she first helped organize the tournament in 2022. They hoped to raise $10,000, which would allow them to leverage the $10,000 Toyota match program.

 

"In those first two years, we were proud to raise just over $23,000 and $24,000 respectively, including the match. Scott O’Connell, our General Manager at Coggins Auto, and I had a powerful vision: each year, we would support a different organization in need, selected through community voting," she said. "We wanted the community to guide us, to tell us where help was most needed. And that approach has shaped the tournament into what it is today."

 

The tournament is now in its fourth year.

 

Harrington said last year they raised over $54,000 for the Bennington Little League, a high watermark for the tournament. They were within striking distance of that amount this year.

 

"We honestly didn’t think we’d get close to that amount again anytime soon," Harrington said. But this year, the community showed up in a big way once again, helping us raise an incredible $50,000 for the Cancer Center Community Crusaders."

 

Cancer Center Community Crusaders are a not-for-profit group of volunteers who work to support community members from Bennington and the surrounding areas who are battling cancer. 

 

Each year, Coggins picks a different recipient. They review applications and hold an internal vote among the 80 or so Coggins employees. The top three vote getters are then put out for a public vote to determine what cause or organization the tournament will support that year.

 

"It shows that businesses, sponsors, and community members in Southern Vermont and Northern Berkshire truly recognize the value of these organizations and the positive impact they have on our communities," she said. ""Because the recipients are chosen by their peers, it reflects a real understanding of where help is most needed, where attention should be focused, and what the community cares about most. Over the past four years, the recipients have all had broad influence and deep connections within the community and it's genuinely inspiring to see how strongly we all come together to support them."

 

The 2026 Tournament submissions will open in March of 2026.