The Wyoming Heroes Fund is partnering with the Paradise Valley Golf Club to host a golf tournament to raise money for first responders in Wyoming.

The tournament is being held on September 3 at 1 p.m., with all proceeds going through the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 6.

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This is the second annual golf tournament being held for the Heroes Fund, which was originally set up in 2018 through the Wyoming Medical Center Foundation as a way to support first responders, and their families, who have faced injury or death.

Randy Bjorklund, who started the Wyoming Heroes Fund and worked in law enforcement for 17 years, said he started the fund the support first responders who are in need of assistance.

"Being a law enforcement officer, living the life, having a family, was wondering what my wife would be doing if I was shot or hurt, critically hurt, up in the hospital, and who would be taking care of the kids. How would my car payments get paid, my house payments get paid. If my water heater went out, my dishwasher or toilet went out, who would be taking care of that, I could not do it because I'd be up in the hospital. That's how the funds started, to relieve some of stress from the loved ones."

There are also eight companies sponsoring the tournament this year, including Modern Electric, Franks Meats, and Casper College.

While this is the third year that the tournament has been held, it is only second year that the money has gone through Lodge 6, as Bjorklund said there were issues when it was first held in 2018 that caused the funds they raised to not go to the right place.

Bjorklund said after what happened with the tournament that was held in 2018, he was able to pick it back up again in 2020, where they were able to raise $25,000 and had 120 come out to golf.

At the tournament this year, Bjorklund said there should be around 30 volunteers helping with the event, while outside of events, Bjorklund said the only volunteers for the fund are himself, Tiffany Elhart with Lodge 6, and Josh Elliot with Casper Fire-EMS.

Elliot said so far around 20 teams of four have signed up for the tournament, one of which is from the fire department that he helped organize, although more will probably sign up before the tournament begins.

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