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Kids Chance Georgia 2007 Wrap
Author: | Tuesday September 25, 2007
Ray Brasted of Georgia1st.com received an award for support of Kids Chance. At left is Judge Carolyn Hall, Chair of the State Board of Workers' Compensation and Polly Hale of the Kids Chance Georgia Board of Directors.
Kids' Chance --
"Our Kids" Need You!!!!!
By Cheryl Oliver
2007 – it’s more than half over and seems like it just began!!! The Celebrity Roast of Leo Mazzone was our springboard for the new year and we’ve hardly had time to come up for air.
GSIA: Karen Bartlett again organized an excellent silent auction and the good folks at GSIA allowed us to hold it during their Spring Conference in Savannah in May. They also once again hosted a golf tournament to benefit our scholarship program; altogether, the two events brought in more than $8,000, much needed funds with the approach of Fall semester tuition payments due for a great number of Kids’ Chance recipients … the financial need is greater than ever and applications are pouring in! Thanks to Karen, Kathi & John, all auction donors and buyers AND golfers for your help!
GOLF: Lori Ellwood and her committee did an outstanding job of staging the 15th Annual Kids’ Chance Charity Golf Classic at Lake Lanier Islands. A Pairing Party on Sunday evening featured appearances by former Braves players Pete Smith and Marty Perez and Golf pro Matt Peterson. Then on Monday Pete and two more Braves celebs joined us: Brad Clontz and Zane Smith. PGA Superstore provided an exhibition and special feature by the reigning U.S. Long-Drive Champion Kevin Bullard – golfers could pay to have him hit their drives on one hole, and the guy can hit the ball a country mile! Raised some good dollars for Kids’ Chance, too!
The weather was great – the monsoon waited until play ended to come rolling in just as the awards ceremony started. Winners were:
First Place - Score 48.7
Frank Fanto, Jeff Goldberg, Scott Hensley, Pete Smith
Second Place - Score 48.9
Tom Balsamidas, Bob Fowle, Bob Garrett, Jody Godfrey
Third Place - Score 49.9
Brad Clontz, Judge Carolyn Hall, Judge David Imahara, Dr. Kay Kirkpatrick
Closest to the Pin: Gary Kirk
Longest Drive: Fred Dawkins
Putting Contest: Billy Barrett
It’s always risky to start thanking people in case you omit someone who deserves recognition, but I’ll have to say that Lori Ellwood poured her heart and soul into this event. Chantay Foley served as vice-chair and is training to take over as chair one of these years (YAY!). “It would have been hard to have accomplished this success without the help of Pete Smith,” says Lori.
“He was instrumental in getting the Braves players involved and is already on board to help out next year. Matt Peterson was great and the PGA Superstore’s contribution can’t be overlooked. I had a terrific committee and I’m grateful to all of the members for their help and encouragement. We’re looking forward to the 16th Annual Tournament scheduled for June 2008 – it’ll be bigger and better than ever!”
Lori joins all of us at Kids’ Chance in thanking RUTHERFORD & CHRISTIE, our presenting sponsors, for their phenomenal support. This year’s sponsorship fulfilled the commitment of $50,000 to Kids’ Chance, made five years ago by Carrie Christie and Vince Toreno, but they’re still supportive because they have caught the vision of what Kids’ Chance accomplishes through educational scholarships for the children of Georgia’s seriously injured workers … restored hope, improved chances, a better world.
DOL/SHE AUCTION:
The Georgia Dept. of Labor will hold its annual Safety, Health & Environmental (SHE) Conference Nov. 6-8 at the Riverfront Marriott in Savannah. A two-day silent auction to benefit Kids’ Chance will bring a fun perspective to the event. We need auction items – please contact the Kids’ Chance office if you have something to donate.
FUN RUN:
Event Chair Ben Leonard of David & Rosetti law firm has announced the date for the 2007 Kids’ Chance Fun Run/Walk: October 20. It’ll be held in the Atlanta area – location to be determined. Contact Ben at 404-446-4487 (email: ben.leonard@davidandrosetti.com) or the Kids’ Chance office for more info.
We’ve had much more going on in and around Valdosta this year, but space is limited, so I’ll just say THANK YOU to our Board of Directors and all of our volunteers who make this program work. As always, we’re so grateful to Ray Brasted for donating space to Kids’ Chance in this terrific publication.
Workplace accidents will happen; families will be adversely affected by them; kids’ opportunities for education will be put in jeopardy; Kids’ Chance will be there to help … with YOUR help and support!!!!!
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