January 13, 2010–TPC Las Vegas is one of two Las Vegas golf courses that are owned and operated by the PGA Tour, and is a resort Las Vegas golf course. This week, TPC Las Vegas was the host course for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMCE) Celebrity Golf Tournament sponsored by Canon U.S.A. Many celebrities, including Las Vegas residents Rollie Fingers, Natalie Gulbis and former Nevada Governor Bob Miller, played.
Each year, this Las Vegas golf tournament 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. The tournament has been played at TPC Las Vegas, a former host course for Las Vegas PGA Tour and Champions Tour tournaments, for several years. This year's event, according to TPC Las Vegas officials, raised $347,000 for the non-profit organization.
Since 1997, Canon U.S.A. and NCMEC have collaborated to educate the public about the growing issue of missing children. The Canon4Kidsprogram, sponsored by 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 about tips for taking and maintaining updated photos of their children. Other celebrities that turned out for the tournament were Richard Burgi from Desperate Housewives, rocker Alice Cooper, Robert Hayes from Airplane, Davey Jones, Chris Rich from Reba & Murphy Brown, Kevin Sorbo from Hercules, Mark Steines from Entertainment Tonight, Patrick Warburton from Seinfeld, and John Walsh from America’s Most Wanted.
TPC Las Vegas was designed by PGA Tour Design Services Lead Architect Bobby Weed with consultation by World Golf Hall of Fame member Raymond Floyd. This Las Vegas golf course is described as "Desert Elegance" for holes that play nicely through the desert terrain and for a course that is always in PGA Tour condition. And on a daily basis, you never know what Las Vegas PGA Tour or LPGA Tour golfer will be there playing and practicing. Tour players that play at the course include Charley Hoffman, Chris Riley, Bill Lunde, Dean Wilson, and many others.
"Canon's commitment to protecting children is fundamentally guided by our corporate philosophy, Kyosei – all people, regardless of race, religion, or culture, harmoniously living and working together into the future," said Seymour Liebman, executive vice president, general counsel and chief administrative officer, Canon U.S.A. "We are dedicated to helping protect children and bringing into focus the many ways digital cameras, printers and photos can play a key role in helping to locate missing children. To date, 477 children featured through Canon Public Service Announcements have been recovered."