A golf course provides ample opportunity to kick around ideas, and Andy Slawetsky would agree with that assessment. The CEO behind Industry Analysts, one of the office tech industry’s top news and trends media outlets and someone who frequently tees off at charitable fundraisers, came up with the idea to host his own tournament and raise money for worthwhile causes. With the help of a few industry friends, the project quickly grew wings.
The result was What’s Happenin’ Cares (WHC), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, which for the past two years has been the backbone of the What’s Happenin’ Charity Golf Classic. This year’s event, held at the Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, Aug. 9-10, raised $215,000 to benefit Blood Cancer United (BCU). The decision to support BCU was made in honor of William Miceli of Pulse Technology, who is afflicted with the disease.
An impressive 160 golfers, representing all walks of the office ecosystem (dealers, vendors and other contributors to the industry) came together to make the event a rousing success. “Everyone had a great time and it was just a really special couple of days,” Slawetsky said. “It was very humbling to see everybody show up to that degree. We had incredible support from our partners; most of them jumped on board without asking how much. It made me smile…just makes you feel good.”
One of the event’s highlights was an opening reception that included a video testimonial, which featured Sharp CEO Mike Marusic and his daughter, Julia. She shared her own experience detailing how American Cancer Society research paved the way toward treatment that enabled her to be cancer-free. A dinner that evening was accentuated by golfing staples such as cigars (sponsored by ecoprintQ) and bourbon tasting (ACDI). The next day’s activities included a dinner, awards and charity auction following the tournament, capping off the memorable experience.
The first event, held at Detroit’s Oakland Hills in 2025, raised $239,000 for the American Cancer Society in honor of the late Sandy Lowery, wife of Applied Innovation CEO John Lowery. In between the golf classics, WHC made donations to City of Hope, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Rochester, Folds of Honor, Make-A-Wish, Puttin’ on the Pink (benefiting ACS) and Kids Tackle Cancer.
Slawetsky defers much of the credit to his board—Kevin Van Kannel, Mark Grice and Bob Goldberg—for making the tournament a reality. Van Kannel was instrumental in coordinating with vendors and the digital signage. Grice helped with handling contracts for the dinners and reception, while Goldberg tended to legal matters.
Slawetsky also had kudos for the tireless efforts of Christine Liphardt, who helped pull everything together as event coordinator. “Christine was really the feet on the street,” he said. “She got everything done, put in so much time and did a flawless job. I was fortunate to work with some great people.”
The Classic was supported by lead sponsors ConnectWise, GreatAmerica, Konica Minolta, Sharp, Toshiba and Xerox, with additional backing from Static Control Systems, Hytec, PEAC Solutions, ACDI and ecoprintQ.
One of the full-circle moments was the significance of Firestone Country Club. It was the favorite course of Paul Youngberg, the longtime Ross International/MARS International sales rep who passed away in 2021. Youngberg, an avid golfer, always brought dealer clients to Firestone and was one of the industry’s most beloved figures. He was also a member of the famed Patriot Pack, a group of industry stalwarts who participated in “The Ride,” an annual fundraiser for The Jillian Fund and veterans groups.
Having MARS leaders such as Mike Sadoski and Raj Thadani in attendance at Firestone added to the poignancy. “We mentioned in our opening that it was Paul’s dream to have everyone in the industry at this course, and here we all are,” Slawetsky added. “That was really meaningful.”
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