HOWARD BANKHEAD
Blog: April 2013
April is Jazz Appreciation Month And
National Black Golf Month
This is my first writing on celebrating April as both Jazz Appreciation Month and National Black Golf Month. While building and developing a relationship with Glennon E. Bazzle the founder and owner of GLOBAL GOLF INSTITUTE, LLC and GLENNON E. BAZZLE GOLF ACADEMY, he made me aware of National Black Golf Month.
I was excited to hear about this newly formed National Black Golf Month recognition that plans to present programs and events centered on learning the game while growing participation in golf on a national scale for families and individuals.
In 2004, when I was with The First Tee program, I was at a First Tee event at the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, Florida. The event at the Golf Hall of Fame was held during Black History month in February and the Golf Hall of Fame had a Black History month program. I was very impressed because I didn’t know that one of the leading agencies in the golf industry was celebrating Black History, while the trend in the country was to question the need for a Black History month celebration.
As a point of reference; I started playing golf in 2001, the game impacted me so that in 2002, I was encouraged to create a program that would give youth an opportunity to experience something that I did not have as a youth. One of the main reasons I have devoted the rest of my life to youth life & golf skills development, is to share with our youth the intrinsic values that golf offers.
This may sound weird, but another one of my mottos is “past prejudices are future opportunities”. Because of past racist laws and rules, young blacks and some poor whites did not have access to the resources needed to play, grow and develop in the golf industry. But now that laws have changed (not necessary hearts), present and future opportunities are available to access the industry. Huntsville’s Tennessee Valley Youth Golf Development has done and will do more to take advantage of past prejudices which leads to future opportunities.
The Tennessee Valley Jazz Society’s (TVJS) original mission was to present the art of jazz through educational and entertaining activities and events. As the need for our youth to experience different things and have more opportunities to succeed in life, TVJS expanded its mission to include health and sports as part of its purpose.
For me, this is how God works; a lawyer friend of mine name Donald Hambrick was living in Huntsville at the time in 2002, when God gave me the revelation to expand TVJS purpose. When I shared with Donald my vision of jazz education, health awareness and life & golf skills for youth, he said I had the same concept as Plato. I was familiar with Plato, but not in depth. I did my research and discovered Plato philosophy.
The Republic of Plato philosophy is that you build a society by developing the mind, body and soul of an individual. Yes, TVJS-TVYGD wants to help rebuild our society. The jazz/art represents the mind; the golf/sport represents the body; and the health/spirit represents the soul.
In order to carry out the TVJS expanded mission and purpose, we established the Tennessee Valley Youth Golf Development (TVYGD) to fulfill the golf/sport side of TVJS.
The connection and similarity with Jazz and Golf
In 2002, when I received the revelation to expand the purpose of TVJS from an arts agency, to a youth development organization, I think I was ahead of my time. To combine jazz music education, with golfs life skills with health awareness, people in Alabama thought I was crazy (and some still do). They asked “What does jazz has to do with golf? When I tried to explain the youth development connection, it was like words falling along the path, on rocks and among thorns. But God is good and what’s so amazing the words also found good soil; people and organizations outside of Alabama saw my vision and supported our cause and purpose.
Agencies such as the USGA, people and organizations such as Earnie Ellison, Jr., Director of Business and Community Relations with PGA and Mike Cooper Regional Director with The First Tee saw and acknowledge the vision.
In order to be good at anything, you must practice, practice and more practice; when you enjoy practicing what you are doing, you develop an appreciation for it. Practice and appreciation = success. I don’t measure success in the win and loss column. I measure success as the output of effort put toward the process. Some called this mastery!
To play and be good at golf, one must have certain values such as: patience, perseverance, honesty, respect, integrity, some talent helps and love of the game. To play and be good at jazz and appreciate the art form, one must have certain values such as: strong work ethic, endurance, resolve, reverence, uprightness, some talent helps and love of the art form. These values are interchangeable.
Because of Madison Avenue, Wall Street and Hollywood mass marketing of negative images, the choices for our youth seems limited to being a famous rapper or a professional basketball or football player. We the community/village must do better and provide our youth with other choices to choose from.
Since 1998, over 30,500 youth, facility and staffs has benefited for TVJS jazz education in the schools, jazz studies program. Since 2002, over 3,500 youth ages 6-18 has benefited for TVYGD life & golf skills program.
I can go on and on about jazz and golf, but my time and space is limited. I encourage you to research Billy Eckstine, Charlie Sifford, Joe Lewis and Sugar Ray Robinson.
I would love to hear from you. Enjoy April’s Jazz Appreciation Month and National Black Golf Month.
Give a youth a gift for life, youth golf development! Support Huntsville’s Tennessee Valley Youth Golf development
For more information on how to donate to help make a difference in the lives of so many in our communities, we invite you to visit our Web site at http://tvygd.dms-graphics.com or call 256-886-0579.
Give Youth A Gift For Life: Youth Golf Development!
Howard Bankhead
Executive Director
Tennessee Valley Youth Golf Development
604 Jordan Lane
Huntsville, AL 35816 USA
256-604-8172
