SAN ANTONIO -- The 4th annual TETCO Dan Cook Memorial Classic raised $90,000 for nonprofit organization SA Youth on June 4 at La Cantera Resort, almost $5,000 more than last year's golf tournament. The event was held to honor the memory of legendary sports columnist and avid SA Youth supporter Dan Cook.
"One of the reasons we support SA Youth and the golf tournament is because of Dan Cook and his close friendship with my grandfather, Tom Turner Sr.," said Jon Turner, TETCO vice chairman. "Last year's event grossed nearly $85,000, and this year we met our goal to exceed that number to benefit more kids served by SA Youth."
In the early '90s, a San Antonio Express-News colleague told Cook about SA Youth and the financial difficulty it faced to keep its doors open. After Cook toured the center, he wrote a column about it. Soon after, readers donated $40,000 to the nonprofit organization. Over the years, Cook raised thousands of dollars for SA Youth's programs. In 2001, its very first center, the former Downtown Youth Drop-In Center on Poplar Street, was renamed the Dan Cook Center.
"I was elated to see the amount of people who came out to support our organization and honor the memory of Dan Cook who played such a big role in getting us to where we are today," said Cynthia Le Monds, CEO of SA Youth. "With this money we can continue to improve and expand our services to inner-city, at-risk youth."
TETCO was the title sponsor of the tournament. Other sponsors included KENS5, Valero, the San Antonio Express-News, Diageo Guinness, Coca-Cola, Blonde Creative, Red Bull, Mike's Hard Lemonade, Wright Distribution/Nestle Beverage, Generations Federal Credit Union, Nestle USA, Crown Imports, Pepsi, Miller, Bordens Dairy, Swedish Match and Pabst Brewing Co.; also Snyder's Lance, Monster Energy, Hershey's, Miller of Denton and Swisher.
SA Youth is a nonprofit organization that keeps at-risk children and youth off the streets and in school, and offers young adults a second chance in life by providing them with an opportunity to earn a high school diploma or GED while receiving workforce training in construction, technology or the green jobs sector.
TETCO is a San Antonio-based company, owned and operated by the Tom E. Turner family for more than 60 years. C-store operations, construction and equipment sales, fuel system sales and service, petrochemical distribution and environmental engineering are the company's primary revenue sources, with significant interests in oil and gas exploration, real-estate development, paving and utility construction. TETCO operates in Texas, as well as Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming.
Separately, Wilmington, N.C.-based VPS Convenience Store Group, operator of the Scotchman Convenience Stores, will host its 29th Annual Summer Swing Golf Tournament & Auction to benefit the Boy Scouts of America, Cape Fear Council, on June 12-13, 2012.
A dinner and auction will be held at the Holiday Inn Resort at Wrightsville Beach on the evening of June 12, and the golf tournament will take place at Cape Fear National Golf Club at Brunswick Forest in Leland the following morning.
To date, VPS has contributed more than $1.1 million to the Cape Fear Council Scouting program, which covers an eight-county area of southeastern North Carolina. All money raised from the event goes directly to the Boy Scouts to provide financial assistance for any Scout who needs help to participate in activities or attend summer camp. It also supports the Council's "Scoutreach" program to inner-city and rural areas of southeastern North Carolina.
This annual golf tournament has become the largest fundraising event in the history of the Cape Fear Council Boy Scout program.
Already this year, the tournament has sold out of VIP sponsorships and expects a record-breaking year in fundraising.
The chairman of the golf tournament is Rich Mione, senior director of merchandising for VPS. The Cape Fear Council Boy Scout program is headquartered in Wilmington, NC and serves more than 14,000 persons through 2,100 volunteer leaders and more than 200 chartered organizations. The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to foster the character development, citizenship training, and physical fitness of young people and in other ways to prepare them to make ethical choices over their lifetime by instilling values based on those found in the Scout Oath and Law.
VPS operates 425 stores under six brand names including Scotchman, Village Pantry, Li'l Cricket, Young's Food Stores, Everyday Shops and Next Door Stores. Last year, VPS helped raise more than $500,000 for charitable causes including Jeff Gordon's Children Foundation, Boy Scouts of America, Muscular Dystrophy Association, Susan G. Komen Foundation and Support US Armed Forces.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Golf Association (USGA) added to its roster of corporate sponsors for this week's U.S. Open, reaching a three-year partnership with Chevron Corp., reported Bloomberg.
The second-largest U.S. energy company will pay $4 million annually to become an official USGA partner, according to two people familiar with the sponsorship, which includes print, broadcast and digital media purchases.
The agreement will use marquee events to promote education by showcasing the science and technology principles behind the game, Glenn Weckerlin, Chevron's director of marketing, said. There will be learning stations to teach about the science of golf--such as aerodynamics, velocity and lift of golf balls and measuring the slope and acceleration of putting greens.
San Ramon, Calif.-based Chevron and the USGA, which governs the game of golf along with the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, Scotland, will create content aimed at advancing childhood science, technology, education and math programs--known as STEM.
In addition to having a hospitality presence and golf outings at the U.S. Open, U.S. Women's Open and U.S. Senior Open venues, Chevron will sponsor a STEM Zone area for students.
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