When Mitch Bowen hit his tee shot on hole No. 11 at the TPC Valencia in the golf fundraiser benefiting the SCV Senior Center Foundation, he wasn’t quite sure where the ball landed. Fortunately, the foursome waiting to tee off behind him saw it — and they saw it go right into the hole.

“We didn’t know it went in,” Bowen said Thursday during a ceremony at Power Chevrolet as the Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center Foundation congratulated Bowen on his winning shot and thanked the Valencia dealership for its strong support of the Foundation’s Summer Showdown golf tournament fundraiser in June.

“I hit it, it disappeared, and I didn’t know where it went,” said Bowen, a sheriff’s deputy and an avid golfer whose prize for the hole in one was a new set of high-end Callaway woods courtesy of Power Chevrolet. “The group behind us saw it and drove up in their cart and pulled it out of the hole for us.”

Representatives of the SCV Senior Center and the SCV Senior Center Foundation said Bowen’s highlight — his second career hole in one, but the first he’s ever hit in a tournament — was part of an important fundraiser benefiting the Senior Center’s programs, services and facilities. They thanked Power Chevrolet for stepping up its sponsorship, including the prize won by Bowen but also including an opportunity for a golfer to win a new car with a hole in one on another of the TPC Valencia’s holes.

“On behalf of our entire board of directors we would like to extend a sincere thank you to Power Chevrolet,” said Don Kimball of Newhall Land, who serves as president of the Senior Center’s operating board, the Committee on Aging. “Without them we couldn’t have had as successful a tournament as we had.”

From left: Mike van der Goes, general manager, TPC Valencia; Myles McNamara, president, SCV Senior Center Foundation; Don Kimball, president, SCV Committee on Aging; John Lutz, chairman, Summer Showdown golf tournament; Kathy Crone, executive director, SCV Senior Center Foundation; Mitch Bowen, hole-in-one contest winner; Chuck Coia, general manager, Power Chevrolet; Chris Weible, general sales manager, Power Chevrolet; Crystal Rasmussen, office administrator, SCV Senior Center Foundation.

Kimball added that the support of sponsors like Power Chevrolet helps the Senior Center “to support a double-digit growth in need among our seniors in the Santa Clarita Valley.”

Myles McNamara, president of the Senior Center Foundation, said the tournament has become a staple of the Foundation’s fundraising efforts, and it is only possible because of the support from sponsors.

“Without sponsors like Power Chevrolet that really ‘get it,’ and understand how important this support is for our seniors in need, we wouldn’t have successful fundraisers like the Summer Showdown to help keep the Senior Center operating through difficult economic times,” McNamara said.

Chris Weible, general sales manager of Power Chevrolet, said the dealership is proud to be associated with a worthy cause like the SCV Senior Center Foundation.

“Thank you very much to the Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center Foundation for allowing us the opportunity to participate,” Weible said. “They do absolutely fabulous work for the seniors of the Santa Clarita Valley and it was a privilege to participate.”

Mike van der Goes, general manager of TPC Valencia, pointed out that fun elements for golfers, like the hole-in-one prizes offered by Power Chevrolet, help make the Summer Showdown one of the few charity fundraisers that actually is thriving despite the tough economy. “We had to bring in extra carts,” Vandergoes said. “This is one of the few events that I’m aware of that was actually sold out.”

John Lutz, the California Highway Patrol’s local public information officer who served as chairman of the golf tournament committee, said the combination of the great golf course and exciting prizes and sponsors have made the Summer Showdown a success since its inception in 2009.

“We were very fortunate this year to have the support of two auto dealerships, Power Chevrolet and Frontier Toyota, so our golfers had opportunities to win some huge prizes,” Lutz said, adding this year’s tournament grossed more than $70,000.  “The prizes, combined with a great day of golf and unique auction items, made this a fun day for all, from start to finish.”

Kathy Crone, executive director of the Foundation, said the support from Power Chevrolet and the many other outstanding sponsors of the tournament is greatly appreciated — and couldn’t come at a better time, since the difficult economy happens to be coinciding with a sharp rise in the numbers of seniors who need the programs and services of the Senior Center, including Home Delivered Meals and adult day care.

“We’re having a needs crisis,” Crone said. “We’re going to need all the help we can get from the community in the next few years. We can’t thank these sponsors enough.”

The SCV Senior Center, at 22900 Market St. in Santa Clarita, provides numerous programs and services for its clients, including health and wellness seminars, arts and entertainment activities, handy workers and day care providers, daily lunches and more than 300 meals a day delivered to homebound seniors. More information about the Senior Center’s programs and services is available at www.scvsc.org, and information on how to contribute to the Senior Center through the Foundation is available at www.scvseniorfoundation.org.