PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. and ATLANTA, (August 3, 2022) – The second-annual First Tee Leadership Summit in partnership with PGA TOUR Superstore has kicked off at PGA TOUR Superstore Chairman and First Tee Board Member Arthur M. Blank’s West Creek Ranch in Montana.
 
First Tee, a youth development organization that helps kids and teens build their strength of character through golf, and PGA TOUR Superstore is once again holding the summit for 40 teenagers from across the country. Twenty of the selected youths have been participating in the first week from August 1-5, and 20 others will attend from August 8-12.
 
To start week one, the teens heard from Michael Vick via zoom on “The Power of Decision Making” as well as Lodge Grass Basketball Coach Josh Stewart on using sport as a vehicle for change.
 
The First Tee Leadership Summit is designed to strengthen leadership skills through dynamic outdoor and team-building activities with the intended purpose of personal growth, education and coming together to make a difference. Daily leadership themes include Building Authentic Relationships, Growing through Challenge, and Building Positive Self Identity.
 
Set in the unforgettable backdrop of West Creek Ranch, the Summit gives teens the opportunity to participate in outdoor activities including golf, fly fishing, yoga, meditation, horseback riding, archery, whitewater rafting and hiking. The teens are encouraged to apply their learnings through these activities for hands-on professional and personal development. 
 
“As we begin the second-annual summit this week, we can already see the transformative experience taking place for these remarkable teens,” said Dick Sullivan, President & CEO, PGA TOUR Superstore. “We are thankful to be a part of such a meaningful and impactful event for these motivated teenagers.”
 
“We honored to host this meaningful week for these participants who will learn skills to take with them for the rest of their lives,” added Greg McLaughlin, First Tee CEO. “PGA TOUR Superstore is supporting our mission and we thank Arthur Blank for his commitment to our country’s youth.”
 
Professional golfer Shasta Averyhardt will be featured the second week.  Shasta is scheduled to speak about pursing your passion and understanding that while your journey may not be a straight path, to embrace the learnings along the way.  
 
At the conclusion of the Summit, four students will be selected for the First Tee College Scholarship Program and will receive financial support as well as access to mentorship and professional development opportunities throughout their four-year collegiate experience.
 
To be eligible for the Summit, teens participated in a five-week Leadership Series that was hosted at PGA TOUR Superstore locations across the country this spring. Teens also completed applications and were selected based on character-driving criteria. The diverse group of selected participants – 24 young women and 16 young men – on average have spent seven years in the First Tee program and their average GPA is 3.85.
 
For more than a decade, PGA TOUR Superstore and Arthur Blank have championed First Tee’s mission through charitable and in-kind donations across the country. In September 2020, PGA TOUR Superstore announced a new grant that will help First Tee reach more youth across the U.S. and strengthen its curriculum for teenage participants, including the development of the Leadership Series, Summit and scholarships.
 
The Leadership Summit is one of several national opportunities provided by First Tee Headquarters to inspire and equip teens on a deeper level as they progress through the program and toward higher education opportunities.

The season starts next month at the Fortinet Championship in Napa, California; starting in 2024 the PGA Tour will move to a calendar-year schedule, according to SI.com

The PGA Tour announced a 47-event schedule for the 2022-23 season that begins next month at the Fortinet Championship, concludes with the Tour Championship in August, and will see record prize money including eight invitational tournaments that will see elevated purses between $15 million and $25 million.

And as announced earlier, the FedEx Cup playoffs will see just 70 players qualify for the first of three events – down from 125 this year – with the Tour going to a calendar-year schedule in 2024. Fall events in 2023 will help players solidify their status among the top 125 exempt players.

The Fortinet Championship kicks off the season, Sept. 15-18, in Napa, California, and is followed by the Presidents Cup. Eight more official events will follow in the fall, concluding with the RSM Classic, Nov. 17-20.

The PGA Tour schedule resumes in January with the Sentry Tournament of Champions, Jan. 5-8, which will have an elevated purse of $15 million.

Other tournaments with elevated purses will be the Genesis Invitational ($20 million), the Arnold Palmer Invitational ($20 million), the Players Championship ($25 million), the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play Championship $20 million) and the Memorial Tournament ($20 million), plus playoff events FedEx St. Jude Invitational ($20 million) and the BMW Championship ($20 million).

VIEW Complete Dates, Winners, Purses HERE

Partnership with Radius Sports Group will source local and diverse suppliers for 2023 Cognizant Founders Cup, 2024 Solheim Cup and LPGA Headquarters

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (August 1, 2022) –The LPGA has launched a new program to advance inclusion of diverse-owned businesses in procurement opportunities at LPGA Headquarters in Daytona Beach, Fla. and for the following LPGA events:

• 2023 Cognizant Founders Cup – Upper Montclair C.C., Clifton, NJ (May 11-14, 2023)
• 2024 Solheim Cup – Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, Gainesville, VA (Sept. 2024)

The LPGA has partnered with Radius Sports Group, a sports and sustainability firm, to work with the LPGA to actively recruit minority, women, LGBTQIA+, disabled, veteran and service-disabled veteran-owned businesses to participate in tournament and headquarters sourcing opportunities. Companies can register at https://www.vraconnect.org/vm-landing-page-lpga through August 29, 2022, to potentially interview with the LPGA and larger LPGA vendors for procurement opportunities.

“The LPGA is committed to advancing supplier inclusion within our purchasing operations and Radius Sports Group has demonstrable success in this important business area,” said LPGA Chief Financial Officer Kathy Milthorpe. “Our association was built on the foundation of diversity, equity and inclusion, and the establishment of the LPGA VendorMatch initiative will further our mission by expanding opportunities for diverse suppliers with the LPGA and within golf’s $84 billion industry.”

“The LPGA’s core principle is to ‘Act Like a Founder’. This principle guides every facet of their operations,” said Radius Sports Group President Gina Rizzi. “As a founder myself, I believe the LPGA’s commitment to this program demonstrates the importance of inclusion, diversity, and innovation within the supply chain in order to build a sustainable future. A goal that generally every founder desires.”

LPGA tournaments drive significant entertainment and tourism dollars within host cities and surrounding areas, and the LPGA VendorMatch program will expand this community impact by utilizing local and diverse businesses.

LPGA VendorMatch registration is open through August 29, 2022. Prospective suppliers may apply to provide a variety of goods and services to the LPGA such as food products, catering, florals, signage, labor, professional services and more. A full list and registration information is available at https://lpga.com/diverse-supplier-opportunity.

LPGA VendorMatch program registrants also receive instant access to the broader golf industry, including major governing associations, via the diverse supplier portal and database, VRA Connect, hosted by the Vendor Resources Administration. Utilization of the database is part of the industry’s “Make Golf Your Thing” movement toward greater diversity, equity and inclusion.

LIV Golf kicked off its 3^rd event at Bedminster Golf Club owned by former President Donald J. Trump. The atmosphere was one of excitement that kicked off with a parachute drop and glaring music on the first Tee.

The course setup had many elements different from the PGA Tour (PGAT) event—from team competition to a 54-hole competition with a $4 million first place prize along with ruckus crowd participation. A fan Village featured a golf performance center that offered swing simulators and a chipping and putting challenge with professional coaches on hand for tips.

More of the experience included a Kids Fun Zone fully staffed with workers, and food trucks offering various types of foods in a party-type atmosphere where far different from what one would experience at a PGAT event. Despite the star-studded lineup of household name golf superstars like Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, Brooks Koepkra, and Patrick Reed, the crowds were sparse. 

Many fairways were near empty but the tee boxes were crowded with vibrant crowds.

LIV Golf has a way to go. They have to overcome a lot of initial bad publicity as a league and so does its individual players. They can make some suggested outreach to the African American community by marketing to its golfing community, its tv viewers and its business community for inclusion and opportunities. 

After sharing with his millions of fans that he had been in talks with LIV, Barkley has ended any speculation, stating: ‘I’m staying with Turner for the rest of my TV career’

However, the caveat for the basketball Hall of Famer who is now staying put at TNT, it is unclear whether Turner will extend Barkley’s contract which has three years left to go. Coincidentally, his contract ends at the same time as the network’s deal with the NBA.

With the third event of LIV Golf underway at Trump National Bedminster, beginning on Friday, and pro golfer Bubba Watson being announced as the newest signing during the broadcast things are continuing to get more, and more interesting for the new Saudi-backed series.

Speaking to the New York Post, the former Basketball player turned TV analyst, revealed that he won’t be moving to LIV Golf as a broadcaster. “I want to thank Greg Norman and LIV for their interest in me. I wish those guys great success and nothing but the best. But, in my best interest, and being fair to Turner — because Turner and basketball have given me every single thing in my life, it is best for me to move on and I’m staying with Turner for the rest of my TV career,” said 59-year old Barkley.

Barkley is a former MVP with the NBA and has $30 million remaining on his TNT deal. The New York Post and Barkley also stated that, besides the $10 million a year he makes from TNT, he also makes another $10 million in endorsements, including Subway, Capital One and Dick’s Sporting Goods.

“My number one priority is to be fair to Turner and my sponsors to be honest with you,” Barkley explained. “I couldn’t just keep them holding on so I made up my mind [Thursday] night. I was like, ‘Make a decision and live with it.’ ”

The only way that LIV could possibly attract Barkley is, “If they offer me something crazy, I’m gonna take it too. Considering how much I make now, it would take a really huge number for me to give up my life right now. I’m not gonna give up my life for… I don’t like to talk about how much money I make,” he said while speaking on The Dan Patrick Show.

Lauren Shelly began working for the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) in 2008 after being a communications intern in the summer of 2007. A non-golfer, she began her career in golf through the AJGA’s internship program after graduating from Elon University with a degree in communications and a minor in business administration. She quickly realized she had found her niche. She was initially hired as a Tournament Coordinator, running and assisting a total of 13 events in her first eight months, while achieving a 96 on the PGA-USGA Rules of Golf test.

AFRICAN AMERICAN GOLF EXPO ORGANIZER JIM ENCOURAGES EVERYONE TO REGISTER AND MAKE THEIR HOTEL RESERVATIONS NOW!  https://aagolfexpo.com/register-here

With a passion for recruiting, Lauren was promoted to the Director of Recruiting and Special Events in the fall of 2008 and spent over a decade building the AJGA’s internship program into the backbone of the organization. Under her leadership, the program has grown exponentially from 100s to 1000s of applicants, while improving the hiring process and impacting the next generation of AJGA staff and industry leaders not only in golf but in sports and corporate America. 

Currently, as the Director of Training and Development, she focuses her time on training and educating the AJGA staff on personal growth and professional development, while overseeing the internship program. She focuses on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives centered around membership and hiring for the organization. Utilizing her special events background, Lauren also annually runs the Rolex Junior All-America Awards Banquet and several company functions.

ABOUT THE AFRICAN AMERICAN GOLF EXPO AND FORUM

The mission of the African American Golf EXPO and Forum is to promote the game, the business the industry the careers, and the opportunities in the $84 Billion golf industry to African Americans.

The objectives of the EXPO are to :

1) Promote economic growth, diversity, and inclusion in golf to African Americans and other underrepresented groups

2) Provide a friendly and welcoming environment for golf industry leaders to develop relationships with African Americans who are entrepreneurs, community programmers, and golf enthusiasts.

3) Help grow the industry by featuring subject matter experts in learning forums, seminars, and networking opportunities

4) Provide funding to grassroots organizations involved in teaching and promoting golf to the African American community.

Register at www.aagolfexpo.com/register-here to attend the EXPO and make your room reservations.

(WASHINGTON, D.C.)–NAACP President and CEO, Derrick Johnson, along with a cohort of NAACP leaders will travel with a delegation of 40 young students on a transformative journey to Ghana as part of the Amos C. Brown Fellowship, from July 31 to August 10.

The fully funded 10-day experience will lead 40 young scholars ages 18 and 25 from the United States to Ghana. The students will be immersed in Ghanaian culture, gain deep insights into their ancestral heritage, learn about the historical connections between decolonization and the Civil Rights Movement and discuss current global social justice movements. 

The program is the first of its kind to be powered by the NAACP. Selected from a highly competitive pool of applicants, the fellows, current college students and recent college graduates come from communities across the country from New York, Georgia, and California to Michigan, Utah, and Texas. For many, this journey is their first visit to the Continent. The experience will prepare them to be global-minded social change agents on issues such as health equity, legal advocacy, education, and economic empowerment. 

The program is in collaboration with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 

The Amos C. Brown Fellowship is taking place three years after the NAACP led another delegation of more than 300 people to Ghana for the country’s Year of Return experience. In 2019, the Jamestown to Jamestown journey took participants of all ages to Ghana to retrace the path of Africans who were sold into slavery from the year 1619 and the centuries that followed.

Building on relationships formed during that journey, the NAACP continues to strengthen its ties with Ghana, and the African diaspora at large. 

“In the years since the Year of Return and the social uprisings in 2020, it has become ever more apparent that the global Black community must use our collective strength, power, and resilience to fight against oppression at every level, and at every corner of the world,” said Derrick Johnson, NAACP President, and CEO. “NAACP remains committed to leading that charge and will do so by providing more opportunities for business investments, diaspora partnerships, and cultural experiences such as the Amos C. Brown Fellowship.”

Over the past three years, the NAACP has become increasingly invested in the African community, highlighting its music and culture through the NAACP Image Awards, and advocating for immigrant rights through its landmark supreme court win in NAACP v. Trump, which solidified the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

In 2020, the NAACP was one of the first major U.S. civil rights organizations to lend its support to the #EndSars movement, which spoke out against police brutality in Nigeria.

The Amos C. Brown Student Fellowship to Ghana is the first program of its kind to be powered by the NAACP, in collaboration with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.https://t.co/yAl4tQy02P pic.twitter.com/ywmHj4a730

— HU Center for African Studies (@HUCenterAfrica) March 1, 2022

About NAACP

Founded in 1909 in response to the ongoing violence against Black people around the country, the NAACP is the largest and most pre-eminent civil rights organization in the nation. We have over 2,200 units and branches across the nation, along with well over 2M activists. Our mission is to secure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights to eliminate race-based discrimination and ensure the health and well-being of all persons.

NOTE: The Legal Defense Fund – also referred to as the NAACP-LDF was founded in 1940 as a part of the NAACP, but separated in 1957 to become a completely separate entity. It is recognized as the nation’s first civil and human rights law organization and shares our commitment to equal rights.