Category: Year

The Joyce Taylor Eagle Award and $4,000 Scholarship was presented to Nancy Rivera at the First Tee – Silicon Valley 2020 Invitational fundraiser on Sunday, October 18th at CordeValle in San Martin, CA. Nancy was selected based on her good character, community advocacy, academic achievement, and life-skill level.

The purpose of the award is to provide a high school student the financial hope of attending college. For Nancy, she is hoping to be the first in her family to attend college and this award she says, plays a big role in making her dream that much closer to a reality. The scholarship has been made possible by a very generous 9-year grant by PG&E several years ago. Thank you to all our Invitational supporters that help fund our programs: HP, NGR, Anheuser Busch, PhRMA, Altria, Sempra Energy, AERA, Intuit, CALA Association, Southern CA Edison, SAGA Foundation, Niemela, Pappas & Associates and CDA.

Nancy has been a participant of First Tee – Silicon Valley since 2017, has completed all 4 projects at the Ace level, and has taken more classes since 2017 than any other participant.  She is a student at University Preparatory Academy in San Jose, CA and she is working on a plan to attend a 4-year university or college in the Fall of 2022.

In her speech (below) to the Invitational attendees, Nancy stressed the importance of carrying on and embodying First Tee values of giving back, and respecting diversity. She said, “This sport and program is very different from all the other ones I tried out because it included a little bit of everything. Yes, they help my golf game, but it is so much more… I am proud to be part of a group that promotes respect and appreciating diversity and provides tools on how to help and think of others. Respect is a BIG part of our daily lives, especially living in the Bay Area where we have a diverse community. Learning collaborative communication strategies has been a key takeaway that I’ve learned in this program and carried with me in my volunteering. I’ve learned  what it means to truly actively listen and how listening involves asking follow up questions to better understand the perspectives of others…Being able to listen, show empathy, and understand the rest of your team are definitely characteristics of being a good leader, which is what FTSV wants us to be and what I want to be.”

Her extensive community service and leadership actions certainly backed up her message to the audience. At each table she passed out hand drawn golf balls for each attendee. The drawing was of a woman’s silhouette made up of different national flags holding a heart that had the word “Respect” in the middle. After her speech she received a standing ovation.

Joyce Taylor (1957–2010) was a woman known for her intelligence, warmth, and elegance. She graduated with honors (Phi Beta Kappa) from the University of Oklahoma (OU) in Norman, OK, with a Bachelor’s degree in journalism. Joyce became a highly successful and respected business woman and community leader with a long career in telecommunications. In 1997, she was promoted to Regional President, Bay Area, and then Senior Vice President, External Affairs-Northern California, AT&T, where she oversaw legislative, governmental and external affairs activities in Northern California. Joyce worked extensively with Bay Area business and community-based organizations. Her support of the Eagles at Rancho del Pueblo junior golf program was instrumental to its growth and success. In 2005, the program became First Tee – Silicon Valley to develop the character of youth through golf throughout Santa Clara County. Joyce’s support has helped to build a solid program that has reached over 80,000 youth from 2005 to 2020.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Tee – Silicon Valley owes an enormous thank you to SAGA Foundation led by President, David Bartoshuk for their generous $110,000 donation to further develop FTSV programs in the Palo Alto-Redwood City area including at Baylands Golf Links. Their donations to FTSV now total $310,000 over the last three years.  The SAGA Foundation assists nonprofits to work smarter, reach further, and have a lasting impact. They are committed to helping FTSV expand dramatically at Baylands for the benefit of Mid-Peninsula youth and the community. David Bartoshuk, President – SAGA Foundation, says, “SAGA Foundation believes critical problems require bold actions through collaboration, open communication, and entrepreneurship. FTSV continues to be a touchstone of what can be accomplished through creative teamwork and the knowledge that together we can make positive, long-term progress.” “David and the SAGA Foundation are showing incredible generosity towards and support of FTSV’s future at Baylands Golf Links and in the lives of youth throughout the Mid-Peninsula.” said FTSV President & CEO, George Maxe. “In addition to SAGA Foundation, we are actively partnering with the City of Palo Alto to make significant improvements to Baylands Golf Links so that FTSV can expand our footprint and public golfers can enjoy more practice area amenities. Also, we are eager to return to normal in 2021 and continue our particular collaboration with Redwood City Police Activities League.” FTSV is very grateful to SAGA Foundation and looks forward to making progress at Baylands Golf Links and serving Mid-Peninsula youth.

The 2^nd Annual Challenge Cup is an inclusive and friendly challenge between golf clubs benefiting the First Tee – Silicon Valley to help us grow the game of golf while building game changers in our community. It is an opportunity for golf clubs to demonstrate their philanthropic spirit of giving back to a non-profit closely associated with their favorite past time. The Sharon Heights – Menlo Challenge Cup started on December 20, 2019 when 28 players from the two clubs played the first match. The event was contested at Sharon Heights and we raised over $16,000 for the benefit of First Tee – Silicon Valley. Sharon Heights won the inaugural match by a score of 201-159 in our unique aggregate point par scoring format. This year we have 3 Golf Club head-to-head challenge matchups competing for the Challenge Cup:

• La Rinconada 434 Vs Almaden 410 took place on October 30^th and raised $16,750
• Silver Creek Vs San Jose – November 24th
• Sharon Heights Vs Menlo – December 3^rd

*The Challenge Cup match-ups are organized by club members for members and may not be endorsed by a club’s Board of Directors. All teams are encouraged to include men, women and seniors in their team tally. Each participant makes a donation to benefit the FTSV to register.  The format is a Point Par Scoring with 100% of Handicap — Net Par 1 point, Net Birdie 2 points, Net Eagle 3 points, and Net Albatross 4 points. The Aggregate of Top 24 scores from each Club determines their team score. The Team scores will be compared to rival Club to determine each match up Club winner. All money raised by both teams will be donated to FTSV in the name of the winning club plus bragging rights!  The team with highest overall score among ALL Clubs is declared winner of the 2nd Annual Challenge Cup Perpetual Trophy! We also assembled our own team using the same format as a team building event where coaches and participants from our three locations came together to represent First Tee – Silicon Valley. The match scoring 326 points was played on November 9^th at the Golf Club at Moffett Field. There were 27 participants made up of 9 Ace level youth, 9 instructors, 7 volunteer coaches and 2 staff. If your golf club wants to challenge another club, Contact Development Director, Judy Dixon Deaton to get started 408-508-4881 – [email protected]. The donations from the Challenge Cup will allow us to create a sense of belonging for all kids – no matter what walk of life. It will help us build the strength of character that empowers kids through a lifetime of new challenges by seamlessly integrating the game of golf with life skills.  

Gabby has been one of our most reliable and effective coaches at First Tee – Silicon Valley. She is a Level II First Tee Trained Coach which means she attended two national coach trainings that helped develop and refine her coaching techniques. Gabby began our program in 2010 and completed the Ace program which is our highest level. Upon her final certification, she began coaching in 2017 and has since coached hundreds of participants each year. Before COVID you would have found her at Baylands Golf Links during the weekdays and teaching up to 3 classes at Rancho Del Pueblo Golf Course on Saturdays. “First Tee – Silicon Valley has always been like family to me,” says Gabby. “I grew up with First Tee and went from being a participant to a volunteer, to a coach. Coaching boosted my confidence in my communication skills and gave me a platform to be a role model for the youth. Go FTSV!” In addition to her coaching, Gabby is currently assisting us in the office with marketing projects while pursuing her bachelor’s degree in graphic design at San Jose State University. When COVID hit she began working with our team to produce our safety videos, core lesson videos, certification guide videos, and golf course videos, all of which are featured videos for our coach training and education, and used as resources for our participants and guardians. According to Program Director Chris Moreno-Hunt, “Gabby is counted on to serve many roles within our organization. She always rises to the challenge whether the it is to produce instructional videos, give speeches at fundraising events, mentor fellow coaches, coordinate outreach efforts, or empower and guide participants in class. She can do it all, and she does it all with efficiency and confidence. Every First Tee chapter and any organization would be fortunate to have Gabby on their team. Luckily for us, she is on our team and we are better for it!” With coaches like Gabby, our participants are in good hands. Thank you Gabby! If you would to learn more about joining our coaching team, click here to get started.

Registration for our Winter in-person classes opened November 4^th. Since then over 190 participants choose to register with all but three of our 21 classes selling out. Our upcoming Winter season will be our third in-person season since COVID-19 began. Last season over 160 students were able to participate in our first full 8-week season thanks to the hard work and diligence of our coaches and staff and to the dedication of participants and their parents/guardians. This Winter we will be building on the momentum of the past two seasons to deliver our largest season since re-opening – still only 40% of our normal capacity. We are doing all that we can to serve as many participants as safely as possible. Thank you to the 190 participants (plus those on the waiting list) for choosing to join us. We are truly grateful. Serving our community and empowering our youth with life and golf skills is what fuels the fire for our team and motivates us to deliver a successful, safe, and engaging program for all. To learn more about our programs, or to register please visit our Youth Classes page.  

Jonathan Tessmann has been in our program since the Spring of 2012 and was a part of the first class that participated in our grand opening of our Gavilan location in Gilroy.  He recently certified at the Eagle level and is moving on to Ace, which is our highest level in the program. John is a sophomore at the Gilroy Early College Academy. Aside from our certifying program, John has been assisting the Gilroy location as a volunteer and has been a trained mentor for the last three years.  He also participated in our participant opportunities such as our seasonal tournaments, the practice squad, and our Go Green event where he assisted in planting multiple trees at Gavilan Golf Course. According to John, “First Tee – Silicon Valley has meant opportunities to meet many great people, cultivate good values, and play my favorite sport. Without the First Tee, I would have never played golf. I will always be grateful for the positive influence the First Tee has had on my life.” John spends his free time introducing the game of golf to fellow classmates who have never experienced the sport.  Outside of golf he is an outstanding student and is the vice president of the debate club at his school. John is ambitious, focused, and curious to learn.  Recently he has taken a serious approach towards researching colleges and has been working with one of his coaches on figuring out what type of college fits his interests and how to approach the process. John is a leader in our program and we are excited for what his future holds. Are you interested in joining Jonathan and taking a FTSV class? Please visit our Youth Classes Page.

In partnership with The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, the PGA TOUR Superstore makes grants to chapters where the stores do business to empower local youth in the surrounding community. The First Tee – Silicon Valley was the recipient of a generous $15,000 donation in support of the 2020 Classic at Baylands Golf Links. The check was presented by East Palo Alto General Manager, Sandy Davison, on September 26^th to participants Isabella and Leonardo at the East Palo Alto location. The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation promotes positive change in peoples’ lives and builds and enhances the communities in which they live. They seek innovative solutions that enable young people, families and communities to achieve results beyond what seems possible today. The PGA TOUR Superstore provides First Tee chapters with equipment donations, tournament sponsorships, training and clinics and customer fund-raising events. We are very fortunate to receive annual support and are very grateful for our partnership.

Presenting Sponsor SAGA Foundation, 15 additional sponsors and 114 players helped the First Tee – Silicon Valley expand our impact on Mid-Peninsula youth by supporting our inaugural Classic golf tournament. The fundraiser was held at Baylands Golf Links, one of our program locations, on September 21^st. It was an amazing day that raised $75K to help our kids become better versions of themselves while enriching the nearby communities of East Palo Alto and Redwood City.

The additional sponsors who made generous donations were: PGA TOUR Superstore, Maris Consulting Group, CourseCo, Wade Financial Advisory, Inc. IBM, Pinnacle Bank, Hallagan Huston Family Foundation, BOLData & Western Digital, Rutan & Tucker, LLP, Audi Palo Alto, Zoom, Bill Powar, Anheuser-Busch, and Reyes Coca Cola Bottling.

The format for the tournament was a 2-Person Best Ball. Low Net First Place Winners were John Bittrolff and Bruce Andreau posting a net score of 60. Low Gross First Place Winners were Bill Ayres and Andrew Bowdish posting a gross score of 67. There was a Closest-to-the-Pins Contest sponsored by Baylands on the 10A short-game hole to kick off the tournament. There were 3 pins and 3 winners: Ryan Janecek, Bill Powar and Ray Robidoux. Golfers also had their shot at the Hole-in-One contest hole for a chance to win a 2020 Q5 sponsored Audi Palo Alto.

We were especially excited to showcase our Baylands Capital Campaign plans which include our proposal to partner with the City of Palo Alto for a 50-year lease beginning 2021. It includes a $4.3M Capital Campaign to underwrite project expenses to raise range nets making the youth area and short game hole safe for First Tee classes as well as to add new nets along Embarcadero Road path and to complete the youth area greens, bunker & tees. This will allow us develop the lives of 1,000 young people every year by providing education programs that build character and instill life-enhancing values through the game of golf. Contact George Maxe if you would like to learn more.

Our recent college scholarship recipient, Nancy Rivera, would like to personally thank you for the impact you have had on our program. Because of you, we work to actively create a space of belonging for every kid and teen — no matter what walk of life. We provide active learning experiences that develop inner strength, self-confidence and resilience that kids can carry into everything they set out to accomplish.

 

Congratulations to FTSV alumni, Juan Pablo Roa and Mitchell Fong for receiving the 2020 National Chevron STEM Scholarship. Chevron selected Juan Pablo and Mitchell for their accomplishments in academics, leadership, and community involvement, as well as for majoring in a STEM related field. Each will receive $10,000 total over the next 4 years. Juan Pablo Roa has been a participant with us since 2011 and volunteered as a junior coach as soon as he was able. He is currently a freshman at UC Berkeley majoring in data science with a focus on sports analytics. As Juan Pablo states, “being awarded with the Chevron STEM Scholarship is a real honor. This award gives me hope to embrace challenges during these challenging times, knowing there are good people that can help make goals and dreams possible. The scholarship has lightened my financial burden and have allowed me to focus more of my energy on studying and pursuing my dream of giving back to the community through my data science work.” Mitchell has been in our program for 4 years as a participant and 1 year as a volunteer coach. He is entering his first year at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo where he is majoring in engineering. As Mitchell states, “I learned in the First Tee – Silicon Valley that we all need to ask for help and build a go-to team and I am grateful for Chevron extending their hand. With passions for sports, engineering, business, and community, my dream is to become a social entrepreneur to provide underprivilege youth opportunities to pursue athletics. Thank you for believing in my future and for your support.” The scholarships are named after the First Tee participants who competed in the 2019 Chevron Shoot-Out at the PURE Insurance Championship as a pay-it-forward scholarship. In addition to receiving the scholarship, Chevron will be connected with possible internships and employment opportunities. As an added part of Juan Pablo’s and Mitchell’s scholarship, they were connected with First Tee – Silicon Valley alum Varsha Nekkanti as a college mentor. Varsha is a junior at UC Berkeley and Ace-certified participant. She spoke with both recipients via Zoom offering advice for how to navigate the new experience of college. She will be available to Juan Pablo and Mitchell throughout their time at UC Berkeley and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Congratulations, Juan Pablo and Mitchell! We are excited for you to begin your journey through college and we wish you all the best!

Meet Leonardo Villegas Luiz, an 8^th grade student at Ohlone Middle School in San Jose. He has been in our program since 2018 and is an active participant advancing to the Birdie level. Additionally, he has participated in our STEM classes, Golf Play classes, and in our seasonal tournaments. Most recently he has represented our chapter during a $15,000 check presentation at the PGA TOUR Superstore. Leonardo’s passion for the sport and for the program is unquestioned. He has a competitive spirt that helps him succeed. Last summer he won a national First Tee contest that required him to submit an essay and drawing about the impact First Tee has had on his life. His award was free tickets for he and his family to attend the US Open at Pebble Beach, a place he loves ever since he attended his first FTSV field trip to the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Leonardo says, “the First Tee has changed my life. I used to be really shy and had low self-confidence. After joining I became more respectful, outgoing and responsible. My love of golf has only grown bigger because of the First Tee.” Leonardo, with the help of his brother and mother attends every First Tee – Silicon Valley season. The classes are better when he is involved as his enthusiasm and drive has a positive effect on his peers and coaches. We are grateful to have Leonardo as a participant in our program! Go Leonardo! If you are interested in joining Leonardo and taking a FTSV class? Please visit our Youth Classes Page. Our Winter season will begin December 1^st and registration will begin November 4^th at 10am.

First Tee of Silicon Valley participant and coach, Borina Sutikto received a $1,000 college scholarship from First Tee trustees, Ed and Lisa Vaughan. Borina applied to play in the PURE Insurance First Tee Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links, but the event was cancelled due to COVID. Accepted participants normally play the world-famous Pebble Beach golf links alongside a Senior PGA Tour in a nationally televised tournament. Borina’s strong golf resume – 2019 JGANC player of the year – made her a top prospect for the cancelled tournament. Ed and Lisa Vaughan made generous scholarships available to rising senior applicants. Borina will be able to redeem the college scholarship for the school of her choice. She is in the process of applying to schools now and plans on playing golf competitively in college. Congratulations, Borina!