Las Vegas, Nevada (August 8, 2010)–The First Tee of Southern Nevada continues to make a difference in the lives of young people. The latest evidence to this is that three members have been selected to represent the Las Vegas Golf Region and the chapter in the Home Care and Hospice First Tee Open at Pebble Beach, an event on the Champions PGA Tour. Melanie Chambers, 15, Julian Glasser, 15, and Brittany Whatley,16, are three of 75 junior golfers nationwide who earned the opportunity. The juniors were chosen out of the thousands of others who are members of the more than 200 chapters that make up The First Tee network. The Las Vegas juniors of The First Tee of Southern Nevada regularly play and practice at many of the top Las Vegas golf courses, with most donating the course and facilities to help the kids.–By Brian Hurlburt.
"The opportunity these young people will receive by participating in the tournament will be something they remember for life," said Joe Louis Barrow, Jr., CEO of The First Tee. "The participants selected have proven themselves on the golf course and through demonstrating their understanding of The First Tee Nine Core Values and life skills they have learned at their Chapters. It is an honor for them to participate, and we thank Home Care & Hospice for their involvement in this year's event." The Home Care and Hospice First Tee Open is an official Champions Tour event that will be held September 3-5 during Labor Day weekend and televised nationally on Golf Channel.
This tournament is entering its seventh year, and is a unique event that features junior golfers and amateurs competing side-by-side with Champions Tour players at renowned Pebble Beach Golf Links and Del Monte Golf Course. It serves as a showcase for The First Tee, an organization dedicated to impacting the lives of young people by providing learning facilities and educational programs that promote character development and life-enhancing values through the game of golf. Participants were selected based on an assessment of their playing ability and comprehension of the life skills and core lessons learned through involvement with The First Tee. To round out the final field of 78 juniors that will compete in the tournament, the host organization, The Monterey Peninsula Foundation, awarded four exemptions. Other The First Tee of Southern Nevada members have competed in the tournament in previous years.
The First Tee of Southern Nevada is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit youth organization. Its mission is to impact the lives of young people by providing learning facilities and educational programs that promote character development and life-enhancing values through the game of golf. The First Tee of Southern Nevada, the leading youth golf organization that enriches lives and develops better citizens, ensures that participants learn the fundamentals of golf and its inherent values by providing accessible and affordable golf experiences including the life skills curriculum based Golf Fore Kids development program, the SNJGA Tour competitive tournament program, and the Driving the Dream scholarship program for higher education. For more information, please visit thefirstteesouthernnevada.org or call 702.433-0626.
"Thanks to the National Association for Homecare (NAHC), the 2010 tournament will showcase this highly successful youth-development program to a global audience and celebrate the values upon which both Home Care & Hospice and The First Tee are based," states Monterey Peninsula Foundation Board Chairman Clint Eastwood. Locally, The First Tee of Southern Nevada is holding its annual Danny Gans Partee Fore Kids in November. Click now to view more details about this major fundraising event.