Walmart Tournament a Success

More than 30 young people participated in our Walmart tournament Friday August 14th at The Children’s Course.  Walmart employees volunteered their time, prizes and gave a generous donation of $5,500 to support our youth programs

Noah Hupp finished first for the boys flight and Ciara Barcus finished first for the girls.  It was a day of fun friendly competition for the youth. 

Participants give back by playing in our 3rd annual Golf Marathon

Chase Benton, Noah Hupp and Aubrey Dashel-Lloyd at the end of a 12 hour golf day

On a sweltering summer day with temperatures topping 100 degrees 16 participants came out to participate in our golf marathon.  Chase and Aubrey both won prizes for playing the most holes at 91 and Noah won the lowest score award shooting one under par 26.

Calvin Flax from The Children’s Course is selected to participate in the Walmart First Tee Open

July 17, 2009
Seventy junior golfers from The First Tee have been selected to play in the Walmart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach presented by Nature Valley, an official Champions tour event that will be held September 4-6 during Labor Day weekend and televised nationally on Golf Channel.
The selection process evaluates participants’ playing ability and comprehension of the life skills and core lessons learned through involvment with The First Tee.

Melissa Merrigan is selected as a semi-finalist for the Coca-Cola America’s Future award.

Melissa Merrigan, a participant of The First Tee Program at The Children’s Course, has been selected as one of five semifinalists for The First Tee Coca-Cola America’s Future Award.  The five semi-finalists will be interviewed by Coca-Cola executives during a visit to their corporate headquarters in Midtown Atlanta August 18-20.  This interview along with the her application will be used to determine the winner of a one-time $5,000 scholarship and a three-day trip to the TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola in Atlanta on September 24-26, 2009.  The four semi-finalists will each receive a $1,000 one-time scholarship.

Future Leaders Forum

Melissa Merrigan and Sarah Wood just returned home from an exciting 4 day trip to the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando Florida.  During their trip they spent 3 days immursed in the sport, science and business of golf.  They attended learning seminars on the customer service of Walt Disney World and shadowed the tournament staff at the PGA Tour Disney Classic Golf Classic Tournament.  Hear what Melissa has to say about her trip.

“I had an amazing time at the First Tee Future’s Leader Forum in Walt Disney World.  It was the opportunity of a lifetime to be able to experience everything first hand.  We were able to go behind the scenes of a PGA tournament and see what it takes to put on such a tournament and the work behind it.  Toro and Disney generously sponsored the conference.  Toro informed us on the many needs and professions in the golf field.  There are numerous opportunities to work in golf without necessarily being a Tiger Woods.  Disney showed the group of us the importance of leadership within Disney and all businesses.
The First Tee Future Leader’s Forum was far from all work and no play.  Being at Disney World, we got to stay in a the wonderful All Star Sports Resort as well as experience the Magic Kingdom, Epcot Center, and safari.  The forum brought together fifty kids throughout the county and even one girl from Singapore.  Within the four days we had I got a chance to build a strong friendships including that with my roommate from Indiana.  I am so thankful to the First Tee for giving me an opportunity to travel, meet new people, extend my leadership abilities, and learn about the professions within the game of golf.” 

 

Melissa Merrigan

Helping children of Clackamas County

Children living in the Housing Authority of Clackamas County (HACC) are severely disadvantaged in different ways. They may have under or unemployed parents, teen parents, disabled parents, and in some cases just one parent. They come from low-income families living in subsidized public housing. Beyond the expected hardships of growing up below the poverty line, these young people also lack opportunities to participate in extracurricular activities that require funding.
We help fill that gap at The Children’s Course by offering children a weekly program that teaches life skills through golf. The children receive free transportation, golf equipment (shoes and clothes included), instruction and more than 200 rounds of golf throughout the year. According to Jane Brown, the Human Services Coordinator at HACC, The Children’s Course is having a positive impact. She has seen improved behavior, attendance at school and academic performance from the participants. She appreciates having programs that keep these children busy and involved.
Nine year old Jordan O’Neill likes coming to The Children’s Course: “I get to learn about golf. It’s challenging for your mind. Sometimes you’re good, sometimes you’re not.” Joel Quintanilla, also nine, has taken one of the core values inherent to golf, perseverance, and applied it to his school work: “I know not to give up on math tests just because I don’t know the answer. I keep trying.” Joel says he wants to be like Tiger Woods. Whether or not he realizes that dream, Joel and the other young people from the HACC will be equipped to succeed both on and off the golf course thanks in part to lessons learned at The Children’s Course.
As the director of Mentor Athletics, Darren Gulbrandson works with the young people from HACC four to five days a week. He appreciates the curriculum taught at The Children’s Course. “It is a perfect fit. Golf is a sport in which it is easy to teach things like respect and integrity. Kids can learn these values and use them in other places.”