Type Archives - Page 23 of 50 - First Tee

FTSV Participants Rachel, Calvin, Sophie and Borina Selected for PURE Insurance Championship

First Tee and PGA TOUR Champions announced today Rachel Truong, Calvin Kong, Sophie Thai, and Borina Sutikto will represent First Tee — Silicon Valley when they compete in the 2021 PURE Insurance Championship Impacting the First Tee. The event, in its 18th year, will bring teens from First Tee chapters to Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course for the PGA TOUR Champions tournament, September 20-26. The annual event, hosted by the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, is televised nationally on Golf Channel. Rachel will start her college journey at Chapman University this Fall. She has been in our program since 2017, volunteered for 3 years, and has quickly become an accomplished golfer. She played for her high school team at Piedmont Hills and competed in several tournaments in Northern California. Calvin will be entering his Junior year at Monta Vista High School. He has been a volunteer coach for us since 2019 and has been a participant since 2011. He is one of the top players on his high school team, plays to a scratch handicap, and was a key member of the PGA Jr League team that made it to the National Championship. He is a long standing participant in our program having eclipsed 10 years. Sophie has been in our program for over 9 years and is a high-performing competitive golfer. She is highly ranked in California, is a 2-time Girls Golf Champion, has 3 top 3 finishes in the AJGA (top national junior golfing tour), and is first team all-league for her high school team at Los Altos. Recently she tied for 2^nd at the Inaugural First Tee National Championship. Click here to learn more. Borina has been a participant for 6 years and a volunteer coach for the past 3.5 years. She received a scholarship to play college golf at Santa Clara University this Fall. She plays to a +3.9 handicap, was the JGANC 2019 Player of the Year and Scoring Champion. She qualified for the US Girls Junior Championship, and like Sophie, tied for 2^nd in the Inaugural First Tee National Championship. Click here to learn more. In addition to meeting the rigorous golf skill requirements, each individual had to prove their demonstration of First Tee life skills and personal growth through essays and interviews. Throughout the week the teens apply the life and leadership skills learned from First Tee programs during the one-of-a-kind event where they are paired with a PGA TOUR Champions player and amateurs from the business world. Rachel, Calvin, Sophie, and Borina will compete for the pro-junior team title. They will join 77 other teens from First Tee chapters across the country. The full junior field was revealed live on Golf Channel’s “Golf Today.” The reveal included surprises with PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan, PGA TOUR player Ryan Palmer, Korn Ferry Tour player Austin Smotherman and Golf Channel hosts Shane Bacon and Damon Hack that had been recorded over the last month and aired as part of the PURE Insurance Championship junior field announcement. “Congratulations to Rachel, Sophie, Borina, and Calvin who have been selected to play and represent First Tee — Silicon Valley on a national stage,” said Greg McLaughlin, First Tee CEO. “Their hard work and commitment to academic and personal growth through our programs has secured this opportunity. Thank you to our partners − PURE Insurance, PGA TOUR Champions, Pebble Beach Resorts, Monterey Peninsula Foundation and Golf Channel − for their commitment to young people and helping us provide this opportunity to these deserving teens.” This year’s field of PGA TOUR Champions players will feature World Golf Hall of Fame Members Bernhard Langer, Mark O’Meara, Vijay Singh, as well as three-time PURE Insurance Championship winners Kirk Triplett and Jeff Sluman. Clint Eastwood serves as chairman of the PURE Insurance Championship. Play will be conducted on Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course on Friday and Saturday. The final round will be contested solely at Pebble Beach Golf Links on Sunday, where 23 First Tee juniors will compete based on their 36-hole performance. The tournament will crown one male and one female First Tee Junior Champion on Sunday. More than 1,000 teens from First Tee have played in the PURE Insurance Championship, experiencing the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet, play and be mentored by PGA TOUR Champions players and amateurs in the field. “We are proud to be a part of this incredible event and the support it provides to the many deserving young men and women from the First Tee,” said Katie Krum, Chief Marketing Officer of the PURE Group of Insurance Companies. “My participation in sports throughout my youth helped shape so much of who I am today, personally and professionally so it’s energizing to be part of an organization that sees this value and an event that supports such a worthy cause.” The junior field for 2021 PURE Insurance Championship can be viewed here. For more information on the tournament, visit PUREInsuranceChampionship.com. To learn more about First Tee, visit FirstTee.org.

Open Tournament Results

It was a great day on June 11^th at Cinnabar Hills Golf Club with 136 golfers supporting the First Tee – Silicon Valley Open! Thanks to all our sponsors we were able to raise $85,000 to underwrite financial aid for class participants. Scramble Tournament Results: First Place – Scoring a 54 – Steve Guerrero, Isabella Guerrero, Chris King, Jim Pieper Each Player Won a Champion Crystal Trophy, $100 Cinnabar Hills Gift Certificate and a Dozen Titleist ProV1 Golf Balls First Place Woman – Scoring a 63 – Kyleigh Moreno, Kassidy Moreno, Kennedy Moreno, Ernesto Moreno Each Player Won a Champion Crystal Trophy, $100 Cinnabar Hills Gift Certificate and a Dozen Titleist ProV1 Golf Balls Long Drive: Ashley Freitas Won a $50 Cinnabar Hills Gift Certificate Closest to the Pin: Nate Deaton Won a $50 Cinnabar Hills Gift Certificate Raffle Prize Winners: Foursome plus Carts 1) Almaden Golf & Country Club – Dani Chehak 2) San Jose Country Club – John Ahn 3) Cinnabar Hills Golf Club & Pacific Grove Golf Course – Brian Harris 4) Golf Club at Moffett Field & Deep Cliff Golf Course – Isabella Guerrero 5) Napa Golf Course & Foxtail Golf Club – Blake Slattery 6) Franklin Canyon GC & Redwood Canyon GC – Jim Mackanes 7) Boundary Oak GC & Metropolitan Golf Links – Mike Maher 8) Callippe Preserve GC & Las Positas GC – Jay Jeffries 9) Crystal Springs GC & Shoreline GC – Michael Sadler Thank you again to all our sponsors for making the Open a success! We’re especially grateful for our Hosting Sponsors: Hallagan-Huston Family Foundation and IBM, our Contributing Sponsors: DeWinter Group and Emerson Street Ventures, our Beverage Sponsors: Anhueser Busch, Coca Cola and Body Armor and our Hole Sponsors and Foursome Sponsors all listed in on our program. All foursome pictures are posted soon on our Facebook page #FTSVOpen Thank you to our Board Members for their support, especially Co-Chairs Ron Hallagan and Steve Guerrero, Jr., and additionally to Steve Almassy, Shane Oberg, Merry Ayres, Frank Wilde, Ernie Moreno, Victor Arrañaga, Jr., Pam Schramm, Baiba Scott, Dick Budelli, Don DeLorenzo, Alex Wrobel, Adrian McBride and volunteer coach and supporter Ty Willingham. Proceeds from the Open will help us impact the lives of youth by providing educational programs that build character and instill life-enhancing values through the game of golf. We believe that all kids deserve the chance to grow in a supportive environment with mentors guiding them. We are dedicated to building programs that are accessible, welcoming and as impactful as they are fun. Please contact our Development Director, Judy Dixon Deaton 408-508-4881 – [email protected] to discuss sponsorship or underwriting opportunities for our Classic Tournament on September 20, 2021, our NEW Top Golf Fundraiser in January 2022 or the 2022 Open.

Meet FTSV’s New Board Members

The First Tee of Silicon Valley recently added a new Director, Pam Schramm and 2 new Ambassadors, Alex Wrobel and Adrian McBride, to our Board. Pam Schramm is very passionate about volunteering and giving back to our community especially in the areas of golf and youth. She has been a longtime supporter of FTSV golf tournaments over the years and we are pleased to have her in an official role. She come to us with a dynamic personality, endless energy and fundraising experience. Pam loves being able to work where she lives and plays golf at The Villages Golf & Country Club. She is currently a Real Estate Agent at Intero in San Jose/Silver Creek. She began her Busines Development & Sales career in Corporate America working Xerox Corporation for 20 years followed by American Express Travel, Gartner Research, Flextronics, Mosaic, Bauer’s and BCD Travel. For more info: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamschramm/ Alex Wrobel first joined FTSV as a Volunteer Coach in 2020 and continues to coach at Gavilan and Baylands at multiple class levels. After experiencing the impact our program has on the kids, he wanted to further support us by becoming an Ambassador. Alex started golfing 7 years ago and is a member at Cinnabar. He has previously volunteered as a mentor for America Scores and YMCA. Alex came to the US in 2007 from Germany and moved to the Bay Area in 2020, now living in San Jose. He currently works at SAP Labs as a Principal Solution Architect – Technical Product Owner SAP Agriculture Contract. Prior to that he worked at Sycor. For more info: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-wrobel-8323307/ Adrian McBride connected with the FTSV because our mission resonated with him and the work he has done in his career expanding opportunity to students from underrepresented communities. He enjoys playing golf at Rancho del Pueblo (our class location) and thinks it is important that golf is more accessible to underserved youth. Adrian is an experienced Program Manager who has worked with public and private stakeholders throughout his career. He will bring some specialized experiences to his Ambassador role. He is currently a Literacy Program Specialist at the San Jose Public Library with emphasis on SJ Aspires. His prior experience included CTE Incentive Grant Coordinator at LA Unified School District, Charter School Proposal Writer at Pathways Management Group, and Program Director at University of Arkansas. For more info: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrian-mcbride-3720a12/ Board Directors vote, provide planning, performance, legal and financial oversight and raise sufficient funds to ensure FTSV’s success. Board Ambassadors give advice, assist with projects, represent the organization in the community at events, help raise funds, and expand FTSV’s network throughout Silicon Valley and beyond. Click here to meet all our Board Members. Contact Judy Dixon if you have interest in learning more about a volunteer Board opportunity.

Community Collaboration – New and Returning Community Partnerships at Baylands

This summer season marks the first time since the pandemic that we could begin welcoming our community partners back to the golf courses. Redwood City Police Activities League (PAL) and First Tee – Silicon Valley restarted the partnership which began in the Winter of 2018. Every Friday this summer, 16 participants from the PAL program will board a van provided by the SAGA Foundation and their President, David Bartoshuk, to be transported from their school to Baylands Golf Links for their once-a-week class. Thank you to the PAL team, including Ivan Martinez, Enrique Calderon, Ricardo Aguilar and Monique Martinez, for working with us to restart our partnership and offer FTSV classes for these 16 amazing participants. We are pleased to also be able to partner with two new community organizations, Anamatangi and Live in Peace, who do fantastic work serving East Palo Alto students and families. Anamatangi supports the mental, physical, communal, and spiritual wellbeing of Pacific Islander families. Live in Peace mentors, councils, tutors, coaches and advocates for youth and young adults and helps them reclaim the vision for their future. We are grateful to Anamatangi’s Executive Director, Tiffany ‘Uhila-Hautau, and Live in Peace’s Managers, Bob Hoover and Eugene Jackson for their partnership and for pathing the way for their students to take First Tee classes at Baylands. Each week the participants from PAL, Anamatangi, and Live in Peace join the over 60 FTSV participants at Baylands Golf Links in learning our First Tee Life Skills Experience and Golf Fundamentals through various golf games. Golf is a fun and effective vehicle for building character, and as a result, we at FTSV believe it is a game that should be experienced by all. Please help spread the word so more participants can have access to our program and to this great game. Our next season will take place September 7^th to October 30^th at Baylands Golf Links in Palo Alto, Rancho Del Pueblo Golf Course in San Jose, and Gavilan Golf Course in Gilroy. Registration will open here August 11^th at 10am. For more information on our programs please visit https://www.firstteesiliconvalley.org/

Join the Caddy Club!

Join the Caddy Club! Don’t miss out on competing in the Caddy Club Majors US Open Competition June 17-20, followed by the British Open July 15-18 and next year’s Masters and PGA Championship. You can join the Caddy Club any time but why not be part of the fun now and start supporting our financial aid program Young people are growing in new environments that are demanding more from them, and therefore more from First Tee – Silicon Valley and from the golf community. Here’s How You Can Help

Every $250 donation allows FTSV to offer financial aid to a new under-served, at-risk youth participant to attend an 8-week program.
Become a Caddy Club member by making a minimum $20 monthly donation for at least 12 months.
All Caddy Club members receive invitations to our free Donor Appreciation events which includes our Caddy Club Majors fantasy golf competition with more than $25,000 in donated prizes available.

Together, Building Game Changers! Our kids and teens are facing challenges unseen by previous generations. Many lack access to safe opportunities that foster a culture of acceptance and provide mentorship. They live in a world where social pressures are always on, calm and confidence are hard to access, and perseverance is a required superpower every day. Youth Development through Golf FTSV exists to enable kids to build the strength of character that empowers them through a lifetime of new challenges. By seamlessly integrating the game of golf with life skills curriculum, we create learning experiences that build inner strength, self-confidence, and resilience that kids carry in everything they do. With the belief that ALL kids deserve the chance to grow in a supportive environment with mentors guiding them. We are dedicated to building golf programs that are accessible, welcoming, and as impactful as they are fun. Who You Will Be Helping FTSV on-course participants:

85% racially diverse
80% achieve all A’s and B’s in school
100% certifying youth graduate from HS
100% Ace top level teens go to college

Why FTSV Needs Your Help

Our FTSV chapter lacks the financial support of First Tee National and PGA TOUR tournaments. We are 96% locally-supported.

Thank You Open Sponsors

First Tee – Silicon Valley is excited for our Open Scramble Golf Tournament on Friday, June 11^th at Cinnabar Hills Golf Club with a 12pm shotgun. There is still room for 3 more foursomes – registration closes on June 7^th. We would like to extend a very special thank you to our Hosting Sponsors: Hallagan-Huston Family Foundation and IBM, our Contributing Sponsors: DeWinter Group and Emerson Street Ventures, our Beverage Sponsors: Anheuser Busch, Coca Cola and Body Armor and our Hole Sponsors and Foursome Sponsors. Hosting

Contributing

Beverage:

Hole Above Sponsors and DGDG Duran & Venables Gavilan Golf Course Intero Moreno & Associates, Inc. Maris Consulting Group Foursome AMS.NET Axcelerate Networks Bordeaux Wealth Advisors CourseCo CZI DeWinter Group E3 Systems Emerson Street Ventures Evotek Ernst & Young Hallagan-Huston Family Foundation HP, Inc. IBM Intero KPMG Maris Consulting Group Moreno & Associates, Inc. SAP Wade Financial Advisors Western Digital Board Members: Co-Chairs Ron Hallagan and Steve Guerrero, Jr. Steve Almassy; Shane Oberg; Merry Ayres; Frank Wilde; Ernie Moreno; Victor Arranaga, Jr.; Baiba Scott; Dick Budelli; Pam Schramm; Alex Wrobel; Adrian McBride and supporter Ty Willingham It will be a fun day with clients, co-workers and friends enjoying a great day of golf and camaraderie for a great cause. There will be a variety of contests and activities on the course including: DGDG Hole In One, Closest to the Hole, Long Drive, Designated Driver, Hole of Fortune plus everyone will have 10 chances to win raffle prizes of golf rounds. A small bucket of balls, boxed lunch, snacks and tee prizes will also be provided to all players. Proceeds will help us impact the lives of youth by providing educational programs that build character and instill life-enhancing values through the game of golf. We believe that all kids deserve the change to grow in a supportive environment with mentors guiding them. We are dedicated to building programs that are accessible, welcoming and as impactful as they are fun. Open Schedule of Events 10:00 AM Check In & Raffle and Range Open 11:00 AM Lunch Opens 11:30 AM Sponsor Thank You, Participant Speaker, Announcements 12:00 PM Shotgun Starts – Mountain & Lake – Quicksilver/Oak Tees 4:30 PM Foursomes Conclude Golf Tournament Results will be emailed Due to Covid, there will be no Cocktail Reception, Dinner or Auction. Tournament guests can only stay on the premises if they made advanced reservations with Cinnabar. Please contact our Development Director, Judy Dixon Deaton 408-508-4881 – [email protected] to discuss sponsorship or underwriting opportunities for our Classic Tournament on Sept 20, 2021, our Top Golf Fundraiser in Jan 2022 or the 2022 Open.

FTSV High School Graduates!

First Tee – Silicon Valley would like to wish our 2021 class a big congratulations on their high school graduation! We are proud of who they are, and what they have accomplished in and out of the classroom. We believe every kid and teen deserves the chance to build inner strength before the world demands it, to find the joy that comes with feeling confident in their own skin before the world makes it feel impossible, and to access experiences and spaces where personal growth happens. We exist to enable kids to build the strength of character that empowers them through a lifetime of new challenges. Building Game Changers! Our kids and teens are facing challenges unseen by previous generations. Many lack access to safe opportunities that foster a culture of acceptance and provide mentorship. They live in a world where social pressures are always on, calm and confidence are hard to access and perseverance is a required superpower every day. Young people are growing in new environments that are demanding more from them, and therefore more from us. Our Seniors have been involved with FTSV between 4-11 years, excelling as participants, and giving back as volunteer coaches. They have become a better version of themselves by having the space to be who they are, surrounded by passionate mentors who guide them to see what they are capable of. Although we are sad to see them go, we are excited for what lies ahead. Good luck class of 2021. We are proud of you! Amanda Flores – Eagle – 5 years – Will be attending San Jose State University Andrew Choi – Ace – 7 years Christopher Fox – Ace – 10 years – Will be attending Dickinson College Tony Polanco – Ace – 6 years – Will be attending Chapman University Borina Sutikto – Ace – 9 years – Will be attending Santa Clara University Rachel Truong – Ace – 4 years Kelly Yu – Ace – 10 years – Will be attending Boston College The participants above progressed through our program and either participated in the Eagle or the Ace levels. The Eagle level is our second highest level in our program (4 of 5). Eagle participants refine their golf playing skills with emphasis course management and ball flight, learn to develop their leadership skills, and utilize cooperative and collaborative communication strategies. They also learn to build healthy mental and physical habits, and explore what it means to appreciate diversity. The Ace level is the top level in the program. Ace participants take a series of (4) 8-week projects that focuses on career development, post high school education preparation/exploration, volunteerism, and advanced mental and physical golf training. Making it through our program takes commitment, perseverance, and consistent demonstration of the First Tee Nine Core Values. We look forward to the participants taking what they learned and using their life skills to make the world a better place. For more information on our mission, curriculum, coaching, and how to get started please visit https://www.firstteesiliconvalley.org/.

Cisco Generous Technology Grant

John Ritchie, Senior Director Finance, Global Supply Chain at Cisco Systems and former Board Director at FTSV sponsored our Cisco Grant for a technology donation of two 55” Webex® Boards and Webex®Services. The Cisco Webex® Boards will provide everything FTSV’s need to offer high level remote training. We will make full use of wireless presentations, whiteboarding, video and audio calls. It will allow us to create a great teaching and learning environment across locations where technology doesn’t get in the way. We will gather the team together in our main office space and main golf location space and bring in remote participants for extended collaboration. We will pair the device with our other mobile devices to enable a range of features which will improve the meeting experience and provide richer collaboration. The Cisco Webex® Boards will allow us to connect safely, share at a higher level and engage coaches and participants for enhanced mentorship. The heart of FTSV’s youth development program is coaching. Our coaches include paid employees and volunteers predominantly during 1.5-hour classes once a week over 8 weeks. Also, FTSV’s developmentally-appropriate character building curriculum with 5 levels requires increasingly advanced training, certification, and experience of paid employees. For example, Level I coaches may only teach the first 2 program levels. As a result, Level III coaches are fewer in number. Webex® Boards will enable us to provide Level III coaching to more of our youth by allowing those coaches to be tele-present. In addition, the Webex® Boards will provide us an opportunity to have business professionals and others speak to a class without having to be present in-person. This will greatly enhance the quality of the curriculum content that we may provide. For example, Cisco engineers would be able to speak to our STEM classes, which use the golf course as a learning lab, about physics and careers that apply class concepts. Cisco and the Cisco Foundation discover the best ideas to solve social problems, and they help make them a reality by providing funding, technology donations, and expertise. Working through nonprofit partners, they help create technology-based solutions for economic empowerment, education, critical human needs, and disaster relief, improving lives around the globe. Cisco is committed to inclusive access to digital skills training and supporting those who use technology to educate. FTSV is very grateful to Cisco for this amazing technology donation which will provide us all-in-one collaboration to super-serve our participants taking our youth development education to the next level.

Coach Manny Is FTSV’s South County Cornerstone

Manny is the cornerstone of FTSV’s programs based out of Gavilan College Golf Course in Gilroy. FTSV is blessed to have him on staff and as the leader/coordinator of all our South County programs. Manny manages all Gavilan classes, class equipment, coaching supplies, Girls Golf, and our quarterly participant tournaments. Manny is a huge asset to FTSV staff and participants. He is reliable, consistent, creative, level-headed, and supportive. Our team can always depend on Manny to get the job done as well as assist others as they need help. FTSV participants love Coach Manny, who is a constant, caring presence in their lives. Manny joined our FTSV staff in 2012 as a Volunteer, 2013 as a part-time Instructor, and 2016 as a full-time Coordinator. He is now one of our most-trained coaches. Prior to joining FTSV and along the way, he was the Girls Golf Coach at Christopher High School from 2008 to 2018. This experience makes Manny a great fit for coordinating FTSV’s Girls Golf program. “First Tee has really earned a special place in my heart,” says Manny. “Having the opportunity to spend my days out in the sunshine teaching kids how to be better, kinder people is something I’m truly grateful for. I’m proud to say that I belong to an organization like this one.” Some less known facts about Manny include rooting for the New England Patriots and Phoenix Suns and enjoying all things Disney. The more you get to know him, the more you appreciate his whimsical spirit, mellow style, warmth, and thoughtfulness. Mix all this in with his grounding and it is obvious that he is a great fit for FTSV and as a coach. According to Program Director Chris Moreno-Hunt, “Manny is a pillar of our program. He has helped the program grow over the years both in terms of numbers and in impact. He is versatile and excels in his many roles, whether that includes developing new engaging games, delivering outreach classes, managing our golf club program, coordinating our tournaments, and making people feel welcome. We are grateful for his work and lucky to have him in our First Tee team. Thank you, Manny!