January 12, 2009–TPC Las Vegas is billed as Las Vegas' home of the PGA Tour, but on a recent Saturday, this Las Vegas golf course hosted celebrities and golfers as part of the 10th Annual National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) Celebrity Golf Tournament sponsored by Canon. Celebrity golfers who teed it up for the cause that raised $455,000 included Alice Cooper, Heidi Hayes, Michael Storm, Rudy Gatlin, Kevin Sorbo, Sean Dobson, Chris McDonald, Kurt Bevacqua, John Daly, Davy Jones, Steven Weber, Alan Thicke, Rollie Fingers, Eddie Payton, Ed Marinaro, Robert Hayes, Willie Gault, and Richard Karn. TPC Las Vegas is a past host for both Las Vegas' PGA Tour event and the former Champions Tour event.
"Canon’s continued commitment to protecting children is echoed in our corporate philosophy, Kyosei – all people, regardless of race, religion, or culture, harmoniously living and working together into the future," said Emily Reynolds, vice president and general manager, Corporate Communications, Canon U.S.A. "We are extremely proud to commemorate our 10th year as a sponsor of NCMEC and will continue to help protect children and raise awareness about the worldwide issues of child abduction and exploitation. To date, Canon’s support of NCMEC has contributed to the recovery of 291 missing children."
TPC Las Vegas is a PGA Tour Las Vegas golf course and is described as "Desert Elegance", and was designed under the direction of Bobby Weed, lead architect for PGA Tour Design Services, with consultation by World Golf Hall-of-Famer Raymond Floyd. Holes play over, around and through the dramatic Las Vegas desert terrain. TPC Las Vegas is a resort course that is open to all Las Vegas golfers, and currently a special Las Vegas golf web deal is available at TPC Las Vegas where players can save up to $100 each on tee times. TPC Las Vegas, formerly TPC Canyons, designated this event as a national charity event for the PGA Tour Community Outreach program.
Each year, the Canon Customer Appreciation Reception and NCMEC Celebrity Golf Tournament Sponsored by Canon helps NCMEC to raise awareness and funds for its programs to help find missing children and prevent the exploitation of children. To date, Canon has helped NCMEC raise and invest more than $5 million through product, service and monetary donations. This year’s Canon Customer Appreciation Reception was held on Friday, January 9, 2009, at the Bellagio Grand Ballroom while the golf tournament took place at TPC Las Vegas on the following day. Las Vegas sponsors of the event included CDW, DeLuca Liquor, LV Golf Carts, Maggiano's, Carter Power Sports, Mimmo Ferraro's, Bellagio, Four Seasons, Southern Wine and Spirits, Remax Marketing Services, Gaudin Jaguar.
Since 1997, Canon U.S.A. and NCMEC have collaborated to educate the public about the growing issue of missing children. The Canon4Kids program, a sponsorship between Canon U.S.A. and NCMEC, donates products to help law enforcement quickly disseminate photos and information about missing children, produces Public Service Announcements with missing children photos, and educates parents and guardians about tips for taking and maintaining updated photos of their children. As part of the Canon4Kids program, more than 1,925 pieces of donated Canon equipment (digital cameras, fax-phones, printers and scanners) have been distributed to law enforcement agencies in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and internationally. The program also includes the placement of public service announcements with photographs of missing children in newspapers and magazines across the country to help in the recovery process.