Ozzie Smith, Joe Steranka, 21 Gateway PGA Professionals and Nearly 100 Members of the St. Louis Community Help Raise Awareness and Funds for PGA REACH
ST. LOUIS, 2012-10-10 — /travelprnews.com/ — Children across the St. Louis region were the big winners at the inaugural National Car Rental PGA REACH Charity Pro-Am golf tournament, held Monday at Boone Valley Country Club. St. Louis-based National Car Rental, an Official Partner and Official Rental Car of The PGA of America, sponsored the tournament which raised nearly $100,000 — 100 percent of the event proceeds – to enable PGA REACH to expand its programs and to improve the lives of young people throughout the area.
PGA REACH is working with organizations that are already making a positive difference for youth in the St. Louis community to extend their capabilities, impact, talent and financial resources available to them. The St. Louis organizations benefiting from the proceeds raised through the National Car Rental PGA REACH Charity Pro-Am include Urban K-Life, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri and Boys and Girls Club of Greater St. Louis.
Bellerive Country Club, The Gateway PGA Foundation and its president, baseball Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith, have worked as a team to establish relationships between PGA REACH and the notable local organizations receiving the funds.
“Golf has been a passion of mine for quite some time, and it’s always a great day when you can get out and play with the community while giving back,” said Smith. “The Gateway PGA Foundation is dedicated to children in the St. Louis area, and the money raised today will help us continue working with local organizations to make a difference in their lives. It’s wonderful to have the support from companies like National Car Rental to help us achieve our goals.”
Local Gateway PGA Professionals participated in the golf tournament, including Gateway PGA Section President, Mike Miller; Bellerive Country Club PGA Head Professional, Mike Tucker; and Boone Valley host PGA Professional, Bryan McMurray. All in all, 21 teams made up the field for the inaugural event. Joe Steranka, CEO of the PGA of America, and Earnie Ellison Jr., Director of Business and Community Relations, also each sponsored a team and visited St. Louis to support this event. Boone Valley Golf Club presented a great test of golf which saw four Gateway PGA Professionals tie with individual scores of 70.
“Having the St. Louis community come out and participate this week is a real tribute to the passion and generosity of this city,” said Rob Connors, assistant vice president of marketing, National Car Rental. “Our company is and will remain committed to the mission and goals of PGA REACH and The Gateway PGA Foundation to serve St. Louis youth.”
St. Louisand Bellerive Country Club will be hosting the 2013 Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid in May 2013, as well as the 100thplaying of the PGA Championship in August 2018. In conjunction with these championships, the PGA of America is pioneering PGA REACH in St. Louis and will be expanding the program nationally in locations where championships are awarded.
For more information on National Car Rental and PGA REACH, please visit gatewaypga.org/pgareach.
About National Car Rental
Founded in 1947, National Car Rental is a premium, internationally recognized brand serving the daily rental needs of the frequent airport traveler throughout the world. With National, time-sensitive customers in the United States are able to quickly choose their own vehicles, based upon their advance reservation and requested car class, and then simply drive away from the airport. National – which launched the car rental industry’s first comprehensive frequent-renter program – further expedites the rental process for Emerald Club members by offering counter bypass as well as access to National’s “Emerald Aisle,” an exclusive section of the lot where members can select any vehicle as long as they reserve a mid-sized car. In addition, Emerald Club members can choose to receive EmeraldAlertsSM– emailed communications that include Arrival and Return Alerts, and Drop &GoSMservice with convenient eReceipts.
St. Louis-based Enterprise Holdings owns and operates the National Car Rental brand in North America. With annual revenues of $14.1 billion and more than 70,000 employees, Enterprise Holdings also operates Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Alamo Rent A Car. Enterprise Holdings has more than 1 million cars and trucks, making it the largest and most comprehensive car rental service provider in the world measured by revenue, employees and fleet. For more information about National, visit www.nationalcar.com or www.facebook.com/NationalCarRental.
About PGA REACH
PGA REACH was created to utilize the upcoming PGA of America Championships at Bellerive Country Club as a catalyst to “Improve Lives Through Golf” and will focus on the areas of Recreation, Education, Awareness, Community and Health. PGA REACH will work with existing organizations that are already positively affecting the lives of young men and women in our community by extending their capabilities and impact, making additional time, talent and financial resources available to them. The collaborative and focused activities of these groups will have a significant influence on youth in the St. Louis area.
For more information, contact:
Christy Conrad
314-512-2706
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