They spend $1,500 to shoot, fish and mingle. What else really happens at the Governor’s Cup?

Everywhere you look at the Sun Valley Inn, there are CEOs, lobbyists and Idaho politicians. It’s the weekend after Labor Day, and they are bronzed and sunburned, holding cocktails and wine glasses. Laughing, shaking hands, getting caught up in conversation.

It’s the Idaho Governor’s Cup, where some of the state’s most powerful people go each year to golf, fish, target-shoot and socialize for four days — and, in the process, raise money for scholarships.

The event was created in the 1970s by then-Gov. Cecil Andrus, as a way to financially support Idaho students who choose to stay in Idaho for college. It is now run by a nonprofit, but its formal hosts are the governor and first lady. Hundreds of people attend each year.

The Idaho Statesman looked into the finances of the Idaho Governor’s Cup in January. That investigation found: “Almost every year of the past decade, the nonprofit that runs the tournament has spent at least twice as much money on throwing the annual event than it has awarded in financial aid.”

The nonprofit spent $6.1 million to throw the event at resorts in Sun Valley and Coeur d’Alene between 2008 and 2017. In that time, it gave out $2.1 million in scholarships.

Those scholarships helped more than 250 Idaho students pay for college and trade school, but the wide gap between the charitable spending and event costs surprised a former federal tax official.

“It sure sounds like this is an opportunity for lobbyists to do what lobbyists do outside the eyes of reporters or the general public,” Marcus Owens, a partner at Loeb & Loeb LLP in Washington, D.C., told the Statesman in December.

Owens, former director of the Internal Revenue Service’s division for tax-exempt organizations, said then, “From an IRS perspective, the issue would be whether the organization is operating primarily to make scholarships or whether it’s operating primarily as a social club that has fundraising (for) scholarships on the side.”

The Statesman reached out for that story to Doug Sayer, Governor’s Cup board chairman and an eastern Idaho businessman.

“All those costs are important, because that’s what makes the event what it is,” Sayer said then.

People who attend can choose from a wide array of activities, such as spa treatments, gourmet meals, horseback rides, wine tastings and cooking classes. Without them, the event and the scholarships wouldn’t exist, he said.

“Before someone wants to take a shot at being critical of our event, I think you should attend and see the philanthropy,” he told the Statesman then. “It’s about changing those kids’ lives.”

So, I took him up on the offer.

With help from the Idaho Press Club’s Don Watkins Mid-Career Scholarship, I bought a ticket that got me into the Governor’s Cup for three hours.

5:45ish p.m. The awards

I arrive a little early. My $125 ticket includes the Saturday night dinner and ice show — not the awards ceremony that starts at 6 p.m.

But I figure the folks who run the Governor’s Cup probably won’t mind if I sneak in to watch the scholars be recognized for their achievements. I wonder, “Will I see the kids mingling with Idaho’s leaders of commerce and law? That would be a great scene for the story.”

The answer is no. The people getting awards aren’t the students; they’re the golfers. One of the scholarship recipients is at the event. The others are there in spirit, and in photos on poster boards.

I notice that the scholarship winners are a diverse group, but the crowd at the cup is overwhelmingly white.

I spot lawmakers and lobbyists in the crowd. Rep. Brent Crane, R-Nampa, former assistant House majority leader. Alex LaBeau, president of the Idaho Association of Commerce & Industry. Throughout the night, I notice more state legislators — both Republican and Democrat — including Senate President Pro Tem Brent Hill, R-Rexburg. I see a slew of lobbyists and executives from Idaho’s largest industries and companies — health insurance and hospitals, energy and utilities, technology, manufacturing and finance.

5:53 p.m. Meet the governor

Before the awards begin, I approach Gov. Brad Little for an interview. I say, “Thanks for being here.”

“It’s kinda my job, kinda my job, so ...” he says. “This is not an optional event.”

I ask Little if he thinks the high attendance this year is because people were curious whether it would be different under Gov. and first lady Little.

“It’s all about having an experience where they want to come back,” and build momentum each year, he says. “I just talked to a very successful Idaho business person that caught a slug of fish today. Believe me, he’s going to come back to the Governor’s Cup.”

Many people in Idaho have started their shooting careers at the Cup, he says. He personally brought his grandsons, he says. They watched State Sens. Jim Woodward, R-Sagle, and Steve Vick, R-Dalton Gardens, take some shots.

“They weren’t doing very good, and my grandson, in a little louder voice than he should have, said, ‘Grandpa, when are we gonna go watch somebody that can shoot?’ Woodward turned around, said, ‘You wanna shoot this thing?’ And he’s 7.”

We laugh. That is pretty cute.

The awards are about to start, so I ask my tough question. A lot of people have a perception of the Governor’s Cup as having “more politics involved ... than the charity aspect of it,” I say. I ask the governor what he thinks.

First, he questions who “a lot of people” are, then says, “I’m trying to think about how much politics I’ve talked about versus fishing, hunting.”

He says people at the cup are excited to support public education.

“That’s what it is, and if we didn’t have either one — if we didn’t have the money going to education, if we didn’t have the incredible experience, it wouldn’t work,” he says.

I ask him if this year’s event is different because he and first lady Teresa Little are hosting. He doesn’t think so, since he’s not actually in charge of the event.

“The board does a great job,” he says. “And they’re very dedicated to it. ... [They] try and make the experience better, all trying to increase what I call the yield — dollars back to the students.”

“So you were hoping this year to maybe increase the yield?” I ask Little.

“Oh, absolutely,” he says. “The board has done some things that we are very hopeful is gonna increase the yield.”

The money raised and money given to students “doesn’t always match up, because we have to keep money aside” for students to continue getting their scholarship funds throughout college. “These are long-term scholarships,” he says.

And soon, the awards begin. We learn that the event has raised $1,088,500 so far. (Much of that will go to scholarships, but history suggests that a larger chunk will cover the costs of the event.) The speaker makes a joke about the golf awards taking forever because every golfer gets one.

Here’s the first secret I learned about the Governor’s Cup, by the way: If you want to network, you sign up for shooting. Golf, you’re in a small group. Fishing, you’re a team of one. But shooting is more of a party. The social activities are a big networking opportunity, too — hikes, cooking classes, group bike rides. I notice several lobbyists are signed up for the social events.

Here’s the second secret I learned about the Governor’s Cup: It has an open bar. I asked throughout the night, and it was hosted from at least 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

But this raises an interesting point: The Governor’s Cup is packed with lobbyists and people whose business may come before the Legislature. A hosted bar lowers the risk of someone buying drinks for someone they shouldn’t, and the hassle of keeping records. It also helps solve the mystery of why the Governor’s Cup costs so much.

The alcohol does flow. The swag bags for ticket holders include a bounty of mini liquor bottles. There’s a wine tasting, beer tasting and scotch tasting. The hotel bar was full on Saturday night. Still, only a few people seemed like perhaps they’d had one too many.

6:36 p.m. What is the Governor’s Cup?

Sayer introduces me to Arlen Wittrock, a longtime lobbyist based in Eastern Idaho. Wittrock introduced Sayer to the Governor’s Cup many years ago.

Wittrock says the cup serves two purposes. It raises money for education and puts government and business leaders “in a social setting that otherwise wouldn’t exist,” he says. “I think you see more leaders of business at this event, in the state, than you do at any other event.”

Unlike a conference where you sit and listen, then maybe socialize during a break, he says the Governor’s Cup is “three or four days of leaders in the state coming together in a fun setting, an enjoyable setting, serving the cause of raising money for ... scholarships, but also a lot of business gets done here.”

“What kind of business?” I ask.

Sayer jumps in. An Idaho lawmaker — one he knows through the Governor’s Cup — had just approached him about talking with a school administrator about ideas for K-12 math education, he says.

I ask if the Governor’s Cup was the birthplace of any big initiatives people would recognize.

Neither of them can think of an example right away, but Sayer says there have been some.

“You’re in an environment where you don’t have all the political pressure, or there’s no one listening in. I mean, it’s like a family reunion,” Sayer says. It is “a chance to speak your minds and … throw an idea out, and you don’t have to worry about being criticized.”

Wittrock adds there is no political or governmental agenda laid out. “But there’s an opportunity to discuss issues,” he says. “I think every issue under the sun is discussed between people, in a very informal manner. That’s critical.”

Sayer notes that it’s not limited to business owners or lobbyists or lawmakers. “Private citizens like yourself can be here and get to know these legislators and other business partners and get to develop a relationship,” he says.

For the record, tickets for the four-day event run at least $1,300 — more if you want to compete. Some companies pay upwards of $35,000 for sponsorships that include several tickets.

Wittrock says the event is unique, bringing “a lot of people who don’t live in Idaho but have business interests in Idaho. And those interests and those investments and those people are important to Idaho. But are they ever going to fly in and lobby during the legislative session? No. They all come to an event like this and have an opportunity to interact with the leaders in Idaho.”

7:08 p.m. The dinner

After the awards, people slowly migrate to the dinner venue. It’s an outdoor seating area that overlooks the ice skating rink.

The dinner is buffet style, with steak and seafood and cheese plates and roasted vegetables. I get a plate, load it up and find a table with an empty seat. The man and woman at the table are friendly. They’re from out of state, and it’s their first time at the Governor’s Cup. Her company bought tickets; he’s along for the trip.

There’s a whole section of the dining area set aside for desserts, which is piled with macarons, ice cream, toppings, cookies and more. Both myself and my dining companions are on diets, so we are devastated by the dessert situation.

I look around and see lobbyists and business people talking with lawmakers and each other. It looks more like friendly conversation than cutting deals. This is probably what Wittrock and Sayer mean about building relationships.

8:06 p.m. The speaker

Sayer walks up to a microphone in front of the skating rink.

“Forty-five years ago, Cecil Andrus said, ‘You know what? … Let’s go to Sun Valley, do some golfing …’” he says. “And look at it today. … I can’t thank you enough. Let’s have a big round of applause for all our sponsors.”

He introduces the keynote speaker, College of Idaho student Blake Cowman, who is from Nampa. Cowman is one of the 37 people getting a scholarship from the Governor’s Cup.

Cowman later tells me that he arrived that day with his girlfriend, and they got to sit with the governor and first lady at dinner. He was delighted, as a political economy and environmental studies double major, to be among Idaho’s decision makers.

“It was fun for me, to get to go to sort of a fancy event like that, and get to talk to and meet so many different people ... and to be able to share my story and where I come from in my education and background, and how much what they do there at that event helps students like me,” he said. “And share the immense benefits of it, to hopefully contribute to the raising of more money for students like me.”

Cowman tells me that without the Governor’s Cup scholarship, he likely wouldn’t have been able to afford to go to the College of Idaho. He believes he would have left the state for college, as he had some financially desirable options outside Idaho.

“It’s been an immense help,” he said.

8:19 p.m. The fundraising call

Sayer gets back on the microphone to start asking for donations.

“The real reason we’re here is for Idaho kids and Idaho colleges,” he says. “Is there anybody willing to spend $12,000 to put a kid in school? If you are, raise your hand up.”

He gets people to donate thousands of dollars over the next six minutes. Whenever someone raises their hand to pledge money, there’s a smattering of applause.

“Can you spend 500 bucks? If you can, stand up.”

Soon after, the performers take the ice for a half-hour skating show that includes world-class performers, fire, flags and children on skates. It ends about 9 p.m., and everyone starts to head inside. I think about how it’s over, and the Governor’s Cup officials haven’t tried to control where I went, whom I talked to or what I photographed and recorded. They knew I was there to report on what I saw and heard, and they let me do my thing.

Some people linger in the common areas, talking for a while. Some head to their lodging. Some go to the hotel bar.

As I drove from Sun Valley to my hotel in Bellevue, I reflected on the night. How fun it was, how many big names were there, how many raised their hands to give enormous sums of money, and how much it costs to buy admission to one of the most powerful places in Idaho.

Editor’s note: A reference to Rep. Brent Crane’s leadership status has been corrected.

This story was originally published November 10, 2019 at 6:00 AM.

Audrey Dutton

Idaho Statesman

208-377-6448

Investigative reporter Audrey Dutton joined the Statesman in 2011. Her favorite topics to cover include health care, business, consumer protection and the law. Audrey hails from Twin Falls and has worked as a journalist in Maryland, Minnesota, New York and Washington, D.C.