Month: November 2024

Golf Digest will provide $175,000 in grants to support the winning chapters.

PHOENIX, AZ (Nov. 25, 2024) – Recipients of the annual First Tee Awards presented in partnership with Golf Digest were celebrated last week at First Tee’s 2024 Network Summit, a biennial gathering of more than 800 chapter leaders and partners from across the globe. The following individuals were recognized at the event in Phoenix for their dedication to the nonprofit youth development organization, which uses golf to teach life skills and build character.

Tim Finchem Leadership Award Winner: Gary Koch of First Tee – Tampa Bay
In 2021, the former professional golfer and NBC Sports broadcaster spearheaded the construction of a short course at First Tee – Tampa Bay’s home site of Rogers Park, providing the community with a new youth-accessible playing facility. The award recognizes an individual’s service and commitment to the mission of First Tee.

Coach of the Year: Manny Gallardo of First Tee – Silicon Valley
Over the last decade, Gallardo has become a beloved coach at the chapter, personally developing more than 200 games and activities to further engage First Tee participants. He is responsible for the development of the girls’ program at the chapter and is named as a mentor to participants, coaches and staff alike. Gallardo received First Tee’s inaugural Coach of the Year award.

George H.W. Bush Volunteer of the Year: Leslie Kleinman of First Tee – Cleveland
In 2008, Kleinman launched a culinary program that brings the life skills and values taught at First Tee into the kitchen, educating kids about diverse cuisines, healthy eating and the value of service through cooking for the Cleveland Food Bank.

Teacher of the Year: Layne Frazier of First Tee – Four Corners (NW New Mexico)
Frazier has been teaching at Eva B. Stokely Elementary School in Shiprock, New Mexico, for the last 16 years, 10 of which included First Tee School Program curriculum. He has introduced the game of golf to students from the Navajo Reservation both at the school where he teaches and by introducing other local schools to First Tee.

First Tee chapters in Tampa Bay, Silicon Valley and Cleveland will each receive $25,000 from Golf Digest, while First Tee – Four Corners and Frazier’s elementary school will split $25,000.

First Tee also honored three chapters with the Barbara A. Douglas & Dr. William J. Powell Diversity Award, which began in 2013 to recognize chapters that demonstrate outstanding leadership and commitment to expanding access and inclusivity in their community. Golf Digest will make donations totaling $75,000 to these chapters:

• First Tee – Central Coast ($35,000 recipient): Through a collaboration with People’s Self-Help Housing, the longest-serving nonprofit housing organization on California’s Central Coast, the chapter has engaged nearly 100 new participants from these families. Building off this success, First Tee – Central Coast connected with other organizations in the area to impact an additional 1000+ underserved youth through First Tee programming.
• First Tee – Florida Gold Coast ($25,000 recipient): In 2023, the chapter’s participants were 63% ethnically diverse and 41% female, and the chapter was able to serve nearly 1,000 kids with special needs through partnerships with Boys & Girls Club, Police Athletics League, Big Brothers Big Sisters and the YMCA as well as other local organizations like Martin County Parks & Rec.
• First Tee – Central Carolina ($15,000 recipient): Unique to the chapter is an HBCU Summer Golf Internship, where 10 HBCU golfers are given access to practice facilities while also gaining practical nonprofit experience. The chapter offers programming at Gillespie Golf Course and recently commissioned a mural that celebrates the sacrifices and impact of the “Greensboro Six.”

As a network, 47% of First Tee participants are ethnically diverse and 38% are female. More than 90% of chapters are serving young people with intellectual or developmental disabilities and nearly a quarter of participants (24%) come from at-risk or distressed communities, based on the Economic Innovation Group’s Distressed Communities Index.

“The award winners represent the true heroes of First Tee,” said First Tee CEO Greg McLaughlin. “They wake up each day with the intention of making a difference in young people’s lives. Congratulations to all the winners. Also, we are incredibly grateful to Golf Digest, for their longtime support of First Tee.”

“We are proud to honor all the First Tee individuals and chapters who are so dedicated to sharing golf with kids from all backgrounds, helping them learn life skills that go beyond the course,” said Golf Digest general manager Chris Reynolds. “Their inspiring stories remind us of what makes this game so special.”

PHOENIX (Nov. 21, 2024) – First Tee honored several of its most dedicated supporters Wednesday evening during a celebration dinner at the youth organization’s biennial Network Summit, where more than 800 chapter representatives and partners were gathered. Paul Fireman joined Tim Finchem as a recipient of First Tee’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Charles Schwab and PURE Insurance received the Founders Award, recognizing their longtime support of First Tee’s mission.

Former chairman of Reebok, chairman of Fireman Capital Partners and co-founder of Liberty National Golf Club, Fireman became a First Tee Trustee in 2012. He and his family have invested $8 million in First Tee nationally and in the four chapters in New Jersey – Essex County, Jersey Shore, Raritan Valley and Trenton – supporting their efforts to reach more than 500,000 youth in the last several years.

First Tee also announced the winners of its Founders Award, which it has presented since 2002, as a measure of sincere gratitude to the individuals and organizations whose generosity enables First Tee to impact millions of kids. This year, First Tee honored Charles Schwab and PURE Insurance for their ongoing commitment to First Tee.

“First Tee would not be where it is today without the vision and ongoing commitment of supporters like Paul Fireman, Charles Schwab and the PURE Insurance company,” said First Tee CEO Greg McLaughlin. “When you look back on the organization’s success, it is the individuals, foundations and companies who believe in the mission that fuel the work. We are deeply grateful for their longstanding commitment to First Tee at both the national and local levels of the organization.”

Paul Fireman is just the third person to be recognized with the First Tee Lifetime Achievement Award, following former PGA TOUR commissioner and founder of First Tee, Tim Finchem, who was honored this past October, and retired First Tee CEO Joe Louis Barrow Jr., who was honored in 2022.

Charles Schwab not only provides financial support to First Tee chapters, having established a $25-million dollar matching grant, but the business executive also founded First Tee – San Francisco alongside Sandy Tatum in 2004 and was integral to the redevelopment of Harding Park, one of the chapter’s signature program locations.

Since 2016, PURE Insurance has been the title sponsor of an annual PGA TOUR Champions event that pairs First Tee juniors with golf legends at Pebble Beach. In 2021, the firm expanded its impact on First Tee, becoming a Trustee and committing $1 million to the First Tee College Scholarship Program, which has helped nearly 100 First Tee alumni advance their education by providing financial support, mentorship and professional development opportunities. First Tee is a nonprofit youth development organization that empowers young people through the game of golf, helping them develop their inner strength, confidence and life skills that they use on and off the course.

With nearly half of First Tee chapters celebrating 20+ years of service, the youth development organization is looking to the future at its biennial Network Summit.

PHOENIX (Nov. 18, 2024) – First Tee is prioritizing teen and alumni engagement, innovative gamification strategies and ongoing education for adults in the network, the youth development organization will announce to more than 800 stakeholders in attendance at its biennial Network Summit. It will also share plans for the inaugural First Tee Week, an awareness campaign slated for May 19-25, 2025, that will coincide with the PGA TOUR’s Charles Schwab Challenge and celebrate the contributions of First Tee sports coaches.

“For more than 27 years First Tee has continued to strengthen and evolve while remaining committed to the kids, families and communities we serve,” said First Tee CEO Greg McLaughlin. “We look forward to coming together to learn, grow and align around our priorities at this Network Summit. I am deeply proud of the work of our chapters and thank the sponsors who have made the gathering possible.”

Highlights discussed at this week’s Network Summit will include:

• Placing a greater emphasis on serving participants through their teenage years, which is a critical time of development. To reinforce this, First Tee added technology and gamification to the experience and continues to offer impactful national teen opportunities, which serve nearly 350 participants a year.
• Launch of the First Tee Alumni Network, where former participants can stay connected to each other and the organization for continued professional development and opportunities to serve as volunteers and coaches at its chapters.
• Roll out of First Tee University, an enrichment program for the 10,000 adults involved in the network, providing access to year-round professional development and continuing education.
• Continued investment in academic research and coach training. According to recent research from First Tee and Harris Poll, 93% of parents believe their kids can learn important life skills through sports, however, four out of five see a shortage of high caliber coaches in youth sports today.

These will be among the key topics more than 800 First Tee Chapter leaders from across the U.S. and select international locations will discuss this week in Phoenix during the youth development organization’s 2024 Network Summit. The continuing education event for the First Tee network takes place Nov. 18-21 and features networking opportunities, professional development classes and inspiring general sessions.

Mayo Clinic, Next Round and the Rockefeller Global Family Office are supporting sponsors of the 2024 First Tee Network Summit.

This week in Phoenix, First Tee is also hosting the First Tee Alumni Summit presented by Gallagher, the First Tee Partner Summit supported by CapTech and the Innovators Forum, a leadership event that brings together 32 teens from across the country to develop service projects they will implement in their communities. Past projects have been featured in People and Forbes.

First Tee is a nonprofit youth development organization that uses golf to help young people build character and life skills. With 150 Chapters around the globe, First Tee serves more than 3.3 million kids with the help of more than 10,000 adults, including volunteers, staff members, coaches and board members.

Learn more about getting involved with First Tee.

Each year, a group of exceptional First Tee teens gather at the First Tee Innovators Forum, where they develop a meaningful service project to bring home to their community focused on education, health, human rights or environmental sustainability. By bringing together passionate participants from across the chapter network, the Innovators Forum provides a distinctive enrichment experience, engaging teens who share a similar desire for learning and generating changes in their communities.  

Sophia Waddell from First Tee – Central Coast attended the 2023 Innovators Forum in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, home of the PGA TOUR. At her chapter she works as a junior coach and noticed that there were very few participants with special needs. Sophia’s sister, Ava, was born with a chromosome abnormality that impacts her daily life, so Sophia was aware that golf is a good sport for someone with special needs to pursue as it is quiet and relies less on balance or mobility than other sports.  

When Sophia was tasked with creating a meaningful service project, she knew immediately that she wanted to create a special needs golf program that would operate free of charge at First Tee – Central Coast. As soon as she returned home from Innovators Forum she began working with her coach, Darren Avrit, to get the program off the ground. 

Together, coach Darren and Sophia found multiple community partners to put the project in motion. They worked with the North County Adaptive Sports and Recreation Program to identify participants, and after having the program approved by their board, invited a group to participate.  

Additionally, they worked with coach Darren’s kinesiology class at California Polytechnic University to help provide additional volunteer support so that there was at least one support person for each class participant. Dairy Creek Golf Course, the host site of First Tee – Central Coast, was happy to host the program. With this central and consistent programming location, Sophia was able to utilize a local rideshare program for adults with disabilities to provide the participants with transportation to and from the golf course at no cost due to a NCASARP grant.  

The class ran the second Saturday of every month from February to June 2024. They were able to use an adapted version of the First Tee curriculum to provide fun but appropriately challenging activities for the participants. Sophia and the team at First Tee – Central Coast hope to continue this program into the spring of 2025 and beyond.  

“As an Innovators Forum member, I was able to use the skills I learned of networking and building the relationships that were needed so that we could get this project going quickly,” said Sophia. “Being able to bring groups together as partners in a goal allowed each group to increase their own effort in helping people with disabilities in the community.” 

The 2024 First Tee Innovators Forum will take place next week in Phoenix.

Learn more about First Tee’s national participant opportunities.

Pursuing a career in golf doesn’t always mean playing professionally. The golf industry is rich with opportunity, and many First Tee alumni have gone on to find roles in golf. We asked First Tee alumni and partners about the traits that have contributed most to their success: 

Brittany Gill 
First Tee – Greater Richmond alumna 
Corporate Partnerships Representative, PGA TOUR – Dominion Energy Charity Classic 

One quality that has contributed to my success in the industry is my ability to network within the community through the game of golf. Golf has been a platform for me to meet others, connect with prospective clients by playing a round of golf, and building relationships with many others. Being confident in my own golf game and walking into a crowd of strangers on a golf course has contributed to much of my success in my role this year. Another quality that I believe has contributed to my success is my ability to empathize with others. Being able to understand different viewpoints and empathize has led to many resolutions, agreements, and working together towards a common goal with the various constituents in the golf industry. 

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Callie O’Neill 
First Tee – Northern Michigan 
Assistant Golf Professional, Pebble Beach Golf Links 

I have no doubt that through my experience at the First Tee – Northern Michigan, I gained the confidence to make the move across the country to start a job in the PGA of America at Pebble Beach Golf Links. One of my strongest traits of perseverance has played a large role in my success at Pebble Beach and I look forward to a long career here. 

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Dave Pangraze 
VP, Business Development 
Next Round Golf 

Finding a career in golf is no different from other careers; it helps to have a passion for what you do!  I made the leap into the golf business from traditional sales and marketing, applying the skills I had in one industry to that in golf.  If you are having trouble figuring out how to break into the golf business, apply yourself in school and early jobs to make yourself more marketable for a career in the great game of golf! 

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Janine Fellows, PGA 
Director of Golf 
Topgolf 

My curiosity has fueled a constant pursuit of learning, sharpening my problem-solving abilities, and inspiring innovative approaches that expand my impact on both my team and the game of golf. This mindset has also opened me to new perspectives and solutions, enabling more creative and effective strategies.  

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Sara Scarlett 
First Tee – Greater Sacramento alumna 
Brand Manager, Dick’s Sporting Goods (Walter Hagen & Maxfli) 

I’ve always been an excellent communicator and that has allowed me to thrive in my roles to-date, but my underlying passion for golf is what sets me apart in my current role. The passion propels me to think creatively and work hard, while also having so much fun throughout the process.     

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Gavin Parker 
First Tee – Greater Richmond alumnus 
PGA Professional and golf influencer 

For First Tee, the number one quality that comes to mind is respect. I have respected what it takes to be successful. All that is, is not missing a day. Staying consistent day by day to get better than who I was yesterday. The ultimate form of self-respect is to stay disciplined. 

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Grace Zimmerman 
First Tee – Greater Detroit alumna 
Coordinator of Programs, First Tee HQ 

I believe the quality that has contributed the most to my success in the golf industry is having courage. As a young adult, it can be very intimidating to be in any working environment, but in my opinion believing in yourself is the best way to be successful. People grow by being uncomfortable and that happens when you put yourself out there and have courage. Being a college golfer, LPGA member and working for First Tee has given so many positive experiences, but I have always had to have courage to try out new possibilities. 

With the support of its partners in the golf industry and beyond, First Tee helps participants build the confidence and inner strength they need to pursue their goals, wherever they take them.  

The First Tee Alumni Network is a great way for past participants to stay engaged with First Tee and learn about career opportunities and professional and personal development opportunities. Learn more.