Category: News

Scored The “W” At Fort Pierce Rotary Club Tourney

Chapter Coach Chuck Washington, veteran and Coach Willie Scott, volunteer Dave McCall, and participant Maximus Resendiz won the Fort Pierce Rotary Club Golf Tournament at Gator Trace Golf and Country Club with a score of 54!

Rotary clubs bring together people across generations who wish to create lasting change in the world, in their communities, and in themselves. Rotary members around the world strengthen their connections to friends and neighbors by taking action through service.

Congratulations To Coach David Ladd, PGA

David Ladd, PGA has been a long-time coach and supporter of our Chapter.  He is a huge advocate of junior golf in the Treasure Coast. We are excited to share that David has qualified for the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, Michigan. David will be in the field with the most accomplished senior golfers to take on this Jack Nicklaus Signature Course in May 2024. This is an amazing accomplishment, and we look forward to cheering for David during tournament week.

The KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship is one of the most historic and prestigious major championships in senior golf.  The championship was first held in 1937 and was contested at Augusta National Golf Club. Each year, it showcases the legends of golf.

TimberTech Women’s Day And Pro-Am

Two Chapter students attended the TimberTech Women’s Day and Pro-Am with Coaches Gabbie Budd, LPGA and Nyla Sims. The students, Emma Huber and Mia Baez, spent the morning listening to a panel led by philanthropist, former LPGA Tour Player and current broadcaster, Morgan Pressel. Emma and Mia were inspired by her words, and both wish to continue her legacy by being fierce competitors on the course, and Game Changers off the course.

In the afternoon Emma, Mia, and our Coaches played the Pro-Am with Chapter Director Ken Duke at the Old Course at Broken Sound. They had a team score of 11 under par.

“Ken Duke and his caddie, Marvin, made the round a fantastic experience for the girls,” said Coach Gabbie. “He captained our team and helped the students during the round. Mia and Emma were both amazed by how straight and far the ball went when Ken hit it.”

Ken Duke & Friends

In 2016, Ken Duke’s vision of founding a non-profit 501(c) 3 organization to support well deserving local and national organizations came to life.  After a meeting of friends and family, the Inaugural Ken Duke & Friends Celebrity Pro-Am was born. Each year a great dinner, concert and day of golf are enjoyed by everyone that attends this great weekend. The tournament supports national and local organizations each year to benefit from the event.

The tournament generously supports our Chapter’s children and veterans each year.  Ken also serves as a Director on our Treasure Coast Board.  Chapter President Andrew Hunt joined Director of Operations Anthony Coletta and Executive Director Carl Mistretta to play in this year’s event.

“We are so grateful to Ken for his incredible generosity,” said Chapter President Andrew Hunt.  “Ken and his tournament supporters impact the lives of so many deserving people each year.  It is an honor to be a benefitting charity of this tournament and to have Ken very involved with our organization.”

Sponsor Spotlight: Skate Payments

We are delighted to announce our newest sponsor: Skate Payments, a South Florida based fintech company.

Would your club or business be interested in no longer paying credit card processing fees? Credit card fees paid by clubs and businesses each year total in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Skate Payments empowers business owners and clubs with updated hardware and software that pass the credit card processing fees to customers. 

If customers want their points or cash-back incentives on their credit cards, why should your club or business pay these fees? Skate Payments transitions these fees to become a choice made by the customers.  

To offer customers a better experience and the ability to pay in cash, Skate Payments offers their SkatePay mobile app, which offers customers and businesses real-time processing of cash transactions in the form of ACH. This means no one pays the credit card processing fees and there are no longer disputes and/or chargebacks. Funds are settled the same day!

There is a reason PayPal bought Venmo, and seven banks/credit card companies now own Zelle. We will be the last generation to use credit cards. You already know that your teens and college students rarely use them. Skate Payments is positioned for the incredible opportunity to save their clients from paying millions of dollars in credit card fees while offering a simple solution for customers to access electronic cash. They have partnered with our Chapter as their goal is to have the golf industry be one of the early adopters of saving lots of money.

Would you like to learn more? Visit their website at: www.skatepaymets.com or please contact Kris Patterson at Skate Payments at [email protected] or 917-657-1895.

Great Time At 100 Friends Tournament

Chapter supporters, Trustees, Coaches, staff, Directors, students and veterans enjoyed an unbelievable day at High Ridge Country Club for our annual 100 Friends tournament.  High Ridge is one of the premier golf courses in the state and the country.  This was the first time many of our players had the opportunity to enjoy this highly ranked golf course and clubhouse.

The event was a huge success because of the generosity of our sponsors:

First place gross was won with a tournament record of 12-under par 60 by the team of  Bobby Collins, Trustee Bob Simses, Tommy Pitts and Drake Kelso.  First place net was won by the team of Drew DiAlberto, Lou Chiera, Ed Kolo and Michael Deno with a 22-under par score of 50.

Back At It: Birdies And Hooks 

We partnered with The Fishing Community Organization for another veterans Birdies and Hooks event. Veterans enjoyed a golf clinic hosted by Coach Nancy Stuart at John Prince Golf Learning Center. After tuning up their golf swings, veterans went to Lake Osborne in John Prince Park. While there was plenty of nibbles on their fishing lines, unfortunately, no one was able to reel in any fish, with one fish escaped off the hook in midair as it was reeled in.

Free Veteran Classes

Join us for FREE veteran golf clinics every Wednesday and Friday at 9:00 AM at Dyer Park. 

We provide golf equipment, golf instruction, and opportunities to socialize with your peers and play local golf courses. These programs are open to Palm Beach County veterans.

For more information and to register, please visit our website.