• 
• CLASS
• JOBS
• AUTO
• HOMES

Paluch stays on course for charities in Walworth County

Photo

Photo by Bill Olmsted

Kevin Paluch

LAKE GENEVA — Kevin Paluch is the man who asks why not.

The vice president and chief operating officer of Geneva National Golf Club is a charismatic and ceaseless volunteer who has given his time and his three golf courses to help improve agencies that serve people with special needs in Walworth County.

Paluch threw open the doors to Geneva National's three courses for charity in the name of the Geneva National Foundation. Since 2005, $1.7 million dollars has been raised through the foundation's LEO event, a one-day golf outing for charity that attracts 400 golfers and more than 700 participants overall.

"This guy puts the golf course up, and he gives 90 cents on the dollar to charity as opposed to 40 cents on the dollar," said Jim Drescher, the former foundation board president. "He gives and has been giving up a golf course for one day for charity. Imagine if every golf course in the country did that.'"

The LEO—Lifelong Empowerment Open—has raised $1.7 million since 2005 for Walworth County's SMILES, which stands for Special Methods in Learning Equine Skills; the Lakeland School, which educates children with disabilities from pre-kindergarten through age 21; Inspiration Ministries; and VIP Services.

"I got a whisper from a higher source," Paluch said of the day he decided to interrupt a meeting of SMILES, which was discussing fundraising in 2000.

"I said, 'Can I interrupt for a second,''' Paluch said. "I said, 'Let's do a fundraiser, and I'll donate the golf course.'''

Paluch's simple act of generosity grew from there.

"Kevin became a positive force," Drescher said. "That's what makes a leader, and he does it every single day by moving people forward.

"Here is a guy who runs a public course, not private, and when he closes it, he is taking revenue out of his pocket. Here is a guy who walks it and talks it every single day.''

Without Paluch's generosity, Drescher said, a new Lakeland School would not have been built.

"If he didn't step up to the plate from a personal level and a business level, there would probably be no Lakeland School. I can guarantee that," Drescher said. "Maybe there would be a smaller version a few years down the road.''

Paluch said he enjoys being a facilitator of change and helping others achieve goals that will benefit others.

"I'm blessed," Paluch said. "I'm just a middle man. I put people who can help with people who can help.''

Paluch believes making money isn't the key to happiness.

"Money is just money. It pays some bills, but to be a mentor and get involved in the community is more important to change lives," Paluch said. "When you want happiness that lasts a lifetime, that is what makes you happy, not a value system.''