GREENSBORO, N.C. – – The 2015 season has come to a close for The First Tee of the Triad, and last night at Sedgefield Country Club, the Piedmont Triad chapter of the international organization presented its season-ending awards to six students and its coach of the year with the help of 2014 PGA TOUR rookie of the year Chesson Hadley, the chapter announced today. The First Tee of the Triad is the local chapter of the international movement to teach children life skills through golf.
The First Tee of the Triad runs after-school programs throughout the school year and various summer programs for the approximately 1,500 students that now participate in the programs offered at the 16 Piedmont Triad locations of The First Tee of the Triad. During school hours, The First Tee programming is available in more than 115 schools reaching as many as 30,000 Piedmont Triad children each year. The nine core values of The First Tee are honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, courtesy and judgement. The First Tee of the Triad presents awards for six of those values and coach of the year following each season.
As The First Tee of the Triad CEO Mike Barber announced the award winners, Hadley, who made his fourth Wyndham Championship appearance earlier this year, presented the awards and later hosted a question and answer session for the award winners and their parents. The following children representing multiple Piedmont Triad communities were recognized for their achievements:
Kirstyn Page: Sportsmanship Award for programs at Greensboro National
Madison Cook: Responsibility Award for programs at Gillespie Golf Course
Thomas Fries: Code of Conduct Award for programs at Rick Murphy Golf Academy
Pennson Badgett: Integrity Award for programs at Winston Lake Golf Course
Torin Simpson: Respect Award for programs at Winston Lake Golf Course
Janani Bharathi: Perseverance Award for programs at Tanglewood Park
“It was great to be here and present the awards,” Hadley said. “I don’t do as much with The First Tee as I should. To be here tonight and see how excited the kids are and how much this means to them is really cool. They aren’t handing out awards for the best player either; it’s the respect award, the integrity award, the perseverance award, and in a society and culture in which those qualities are nowhere to be seen, these kids are working at them and demonstrating them regularly. That’s pretty special. It was really special to be a part of this event, and having the Wyndham Championship partnered with the event here at Sedgefield was really special, too. It was cool.”
Some 250 coaches volunteer their time at the 16 First Tee of the Triad locations throughout the region. Glen Mickey, who coaches at Winston Lake Golf Course in Winston-Salem, was named The First Tee of the Triad 2015 coach of the year.
“We are so incredibly proud of our 2015 award winners,” Barber said. “These children have been exceptional examples of the core values for which they won their awards, and their excellence is an additional benefit for all children participating with them through the various programs in our region of North Carolina. Coaches like Glen (Mickey) dedicate themselves to creating great citizens, but Glen and other coaches will tell you the incredible personal benefit and satisfaction they enjoy by seeing their participants live by the core values they are taught. It’s my honor to congratulate them for their accomplishments and a job well done.”
About The First Tee of the Triad:
The First Tee of the Triad is currently operating at 16 facilities throughout the Piedmont Triad, central North Carolina and southern Virginia. Its programming is offered at Bryan Park in Browns Summit, Country Club of Salisbury, Gillespie Golf Course in Greensboro, Goodyear Golf Course in Danville, Va., Greensboro National Golf Club in Summerfield, Indian Valley Golf Course in Burlington, Iron Play Par 3 Links in Summerfield, Jamestown Park Golf Course, Oak Hollow Golf Course in High Point, Rick Murphy Golf Academy in Greensboro, Ringgold Golf Course in Ringgold, Va., Statesville Country Club, Tanglewood Park in Clemmons, Winding Creek Golf Course in Thomasville and Winston Lake Golf Course in Winston-Salem. The First Tee of the Triad is one of 180 chapters operating some 1,000 golf programming locations in all 50 states and four foreign countries with more than 10 million participants. More than 7,000 elementary schools participate in The First Tee National School Program.
About The First Tee:
The First Tee, an initiative of the World Golf Foundation, has as its mission, “To impact the lives of young people by providing educational programs that build, instill life-enhancing values and promote healthy choices through the game of golf.” The goal of The First Tee is to provide the golf-learning facilities and the experience that will enable kids from every walk of life to partake of a game that teaches values for life and which can be played for a lifetime. Founded by the World Golf Foundation in 1997, The First Tee is a way to bring golf to children that otherwise would not be exposed to the game or its positive values. The program is overseen and has the active support of committee members representing Augusta National Golf Club, the Ladies Professional Golf Association, PGA of America, PGA TOUR and the United States Golf Association. Former President George W. Bush serves as Honorary Chairman; he succeeds his father, former president George H.W. Bush, who served as the The First Tee’s Honorary Chairman since the organization’s inception in 1997 and now serves as the Honorary Chair Emeritus.
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