Teeing it up for the kids

It's 10:00 am on Monday morning and my phone keeps ringing. Every time I pick it up, there's bad news on the other line. This team has to drop out, this celebrity won't be coming to play....I start to feel real despair as it seems that our charity golf tournament is on the verge of disaster. We get to play in so many of these kinds of events throughout the year, and all we're looking to do is give the people who are coming out to support our cause a great day of golf and fun. The stress level gets right to the point of overwhelming and you ask yourself, "Why I am I putting myself through all of this?!"
Sometimes when you get an idea, the hardest thing to do is to stick with your vision and see it through to the end. During my first year at WPDE, I was so moved by the genuine sense of community the high school sports circle has in the Pee Dee and the Grand Strand, I decided to give something back to them by creating a scholarship fund. One thing you'll learn about putting on an event is that you'll find a long list of people who are more than willing to come out and have a good time, but not too many who want to put in the work and effort to make that event happen. The first WPDE golf tournament was held at Wild Wing and we raised a little over $5,000. It was a great start, but it was a real basic nuts and bolts golf outing. Ed Piotrowski was there and told me that he wanted to help me out to make the tournament even better. It was that moment that gave the scholarship fund life and many years down the road will be the most significant thing that happened to the WPDE Scholarship fund. Ed was able to get Steve and Bonnie Hughes from Conway Chrysler Dodge on board. In all honesty, they should name a street after Steve and Bonnie in Conway. They give back in so many different ways, yet always keep a low profile about it. Over the past seven years, we've had so many different things thrown in our direction, but we can always count on Steve and Bonnie's support.
Fast forward seven years and we've raised over $100,000 for high school seniors. I had two good friends who came to play in our first event and I really want them to come back to see how the tournament has evolved. The restaurants on the par 3 have become a staple. Your focus on golf goes away when you have a big plate of Damon's Ribs in the golf cart. We really need to personally thank over 100 businesses along the Grand Strand who don't hesitate to give us a hole sponsorship or a free round of golf.
Most charitable foundations or organizations are structured and have a committee to do just about anything. As I said at the end of the tournament, Ed and I take all the money we raise and put it in the bank and hope we have enough money to promise what we raised. We received over 70 applications for this year's scholarship and we had the unenviable task of picking just three. There were honestly about a dozen who totally deserved a $5,000 scholarship and the WPDE on-air team and our boss, Victoria Spechko, get into a passionate discussion about who wins the three spots. This year, Julian McLain of Dillon, Meridith Lien of Saint James and Myrtle Beach's Mac Sanders won the $5,000 scholarships. Their stories will be airing June 13th to the 15th and be on wpde.com to watch through web video. When you read the essays and see the genuine reaction of shock and joy when we announced at the tournament they won the scholarship, it's all worth it.
My goal is to raise $1,000,000 in scholarships and we're only 10 percent of the way there. Seeing that number on a computer screen is intimidating, but I know that down the road it could happen. I hope that one day, the WPDE Scholarship Board of Directors expands beyond Ed and myself to the athletes that star in the NFL, NBA and MLB from our backyard in the future. With their support, the WPDE Scholarship fund can be providing high school seniors with a big boost for many years to come. Until then, Ed and I will hold down the fort.