The First Tee of the Triad Salutes 2018 Award Winners, ACE Graduates at Annual Awards Ceremon

THE FIRST TEE OF THE TRIAD SALUTES 2018 AWARD WINNERS, ACE GRADUATES AT ANNUAL AWARDS CEREMONY HOSTED BY THE WYNDHAM CHAMPIONSHIP

GREENSBORO, N.C. – – The 2018 season is complete for The First Tee of the Triad, and the Piedmont Triad chapter of the international organization presented its season-ending awards to six students and two ACE Graduates with the help of Wyndham Championship tournament director Mark Brazil last night at Sedgefield Country Club, 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 18 Piedmont Triad locations of The First Tee of the Triad. During school hours, The First Tee programming is available in 145 schools reaching some 54,000 Piedmont Triad children. The nine core values of The First Tee are honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, courtesy and judgment. Following each season, The First Tee of the Triad presents awards to students who excel in any of the nine core values; awards are not necessarily presented for each value.

As The First Tee of the Triad CEO Mike Barber announced the award winners, Brazil presented the awards. The following children representing multiple Piedmont Triad communities were recognized for their 2018 achievements:

Alina Amos, 10, Sportsmanship Award, Gillespie Golf Course

McKayla Cable, 10, Respect Award, Statesville Country Club

Cameron Crouch, 7, Integrity Award, Tanglewood Park

Grayson Crouch, 11, Honesty Award, Tanglewood Park

Madelyn Engstrom, 10, Courtesy Award, Sedgefield Country Club – Dye Course

Jamir Leach, 8, Responsibility Award, Salisbury Country Club

In addition, two First Tee of the Triad students achieved ACE certification, the pinnacle of The First Tee. After completing the first four levels of certification, PLAYer, Par, Birdie and Eagle, students have the option of working towards the final step in the program. ACE focuses on personal planning and reinforces skills learned earlier in the program. ACE graduates have also completed projects in four areas: community service, career, college and golf. The First Tee of the Triad ACE graduates, age, current school and the locations they represent are below:

Haylie Paulin, 17, Reagan High School, Tanglewood Park

Ogden Kirk, 16, Mt. Tabor High School, Tanglewood Park

“Hundreds of thousands of kids have gone through The First Tee programming, but only a very minor fraction of them graduate from the ACE Program,” Barber said. “A large percentage of the students that have achieved ACE Graduation have come from our chapter; our graduates this year join 12 who graduated in the last two years. Ace graduates are shining examples of what long-term First Tee participants can achieve. Some of our students are accepted into First Tee national events most years representing our local chapter – that’s an incredible honor for them and our chapter.

“We are also extremely proud of our 2018 award winners. These students are setting wonderful examples of the core values First Tee programming teaches every day. All of our First Tee of the Triad students can look to these award winners and Ace graduates as examples of how to take advantage of what First Tee programming offers. Congratulations to all of them for their accomplishments and achievements.”

About The First Tee of the Triad:

The First Tee of the Triad is currently operating at 18 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, DHA-Jones Crossing in Danville, Va., Gillespie Golf Course in Greensboro, Grandover Resort 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., Sedgefield Country Club Dye Course, 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. For additional information, please visit www.thefirstteetriad.org.

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 First Tee’s Honorary Chairman since the organization’s inception in 1997 and now serves as the Honorary Chair Emeritus.