St Francis de Sales Classic Presented by Scott Contractors

About the Course - Union League Liberty Hill

The 2023 St. Francis de Sales Classic will be played on one of the area's finest and most exclusive private country clubs - Union League Liberty Hill in Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania.  Formerly the ACE Club Liberty Hill was designed a 311-acre site by Gary Player in 2002. The course measures 7,500 from the tips and features five tee placements on each hole. Player incorporated rolling typography, meandering streams, shimmering lakes, vast swatches of mature trees, open spaces, pristine wetland habitat, natural rock outcroppings and historic architectural sites. Its design, engineering and maintenance strategy make the course environmentally friendly, earning the elite Silver Signature Series designation in the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program.

Union League Liberty Hill also offers a two-tiered driving range, ProV1 golf balls and six target greens, an oversize putting green as well as two additional acres dedicated to iron and wedge practice and bunkers.

The Bishop Joseph McFadden Award for Service to the Church and Catholic Education

Honoring Ruth Graham-Conaghan

Ruth Graham-Conaghan dedicated her life to helping others. Throughout her life, Ruth made a lasting impression on everyone she met because of her spectacular generosity in every meaning of the word. Ruth loved people and her greatest joy was finding ways to quietly help people in any way they needed. Ruth moved to the Philadelphia area in 1983 and started an employee benefit firm, Creative Benefits.  Since that time, Creative Benefits has grown into one of the largest independent employee benefit firms in the Philadelphia area. Throughout her career and her personal life, Ruth went out of her way to ensure she was doing the right thing no matter how hard that was at times. 

Ruth was a devoted supporter of St. Francis de Sales School. She helped students and their families in so many ways. She was an avid supporter of Catholic education and spread happiness and kindness wherever she went.  

Sadly, Ruth passed away in 2022, but her passion for life and desire to help others lives on.  St. Francis de Sales Golf Classic is honored to award Ruth Conaghan as the second recipient of the Bishop Joseph McFadden Award for Service to the Church and Catholic Education. 

The Bishop Joseph McFadden Award for Service to the Church and Catholic Education recognizes a cleric, religious, or lay person who has given time, talent, and treasure in service to God's People, especially by promoting Catholic education at its many levels. Bishop McFadden was a beloved lay teacher and basketball coach in a Catholic high school before becoming a priest, where he again placed his talents at the service of parishes, bishops, and especially young people. He worked tirelessly to foster the Christian education of youth and did it all with his usual Irish charm. We have chosen to associate this annual award with our golf outing, knowing that Bishop McFadden also loved the game of golf. The recipient of this award exemplifies Bishop McFadden's sense of service, his love for the Church, and his creative fidelity to forming young people in the Catholic faith.

2023 St. Francis de Sales Committee

Jennifer Hanson, Co-Chair

Ralph Mazzeo, Co-Chair

Mary Bowler, Auction Chair

Father Eric Banecker

Lauren Bradley

Katie Flanagan

Brendan Flynn

George Gunning

Scott Johnson

Sister Jane McFadden

Sister Mary McNulty

Shawn Mullen

Melissa Nevadomski

Kevin Scanlon

Stephanie Scott Glackin

Brian Smith

Paul Wenke

David Winter