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 21st. 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.