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.

Alumni Spotlight: Savannah Mansueti

Welcome new Manager of Operations, Chapter alumna Savannah Mansueti.

Savannah began her journey with our Chapter as a participant in 2008.  She learned about the organization’s core values and practiced them in her everyday life. As she progressed through our programs, Savannah transitioned into a dedicated volunteer and Assistant Coach. 

During her junior and senior years of high school, she had the incredible opportunity to participate in the Joe Louis Barrow Jr. Life Skills and Leadership National Academy and the Drive Your Future National Academy. “These experiences were so awesome to attend, and I am so glad to have learned from other First Tee coaches and participants,” said Savannah.

Savannah was also the president of our Teen Golfers Association and graduated in 2019 from Dwyer High School with the IB Diploma. She attended the University of Florida and earned her bachelor’s degree.

“My time at the University of Florida was a period of growth and cherished memories. From late nights at the library to cheering on the Gators at the Swamp, each memory I made holds a special place in my heart. I pursued my bachelor’s in political science and a minor in sociology of social justice and policy, which opened new possibilities for me both in terms of experiences and classes. I’m excited for the next steps in my career and owe thanks to First Tee – Palm Beaches for helping make it all possible,” said Savannah. 

As our new Manager of Operations, Savannah is committed to furthering the organization’s mission and instilling our core values and character-building life skills into the next generation, growing Game Changers, and expanding the reach of our Chapter.

100-Hole Challenge On The Air!

Check out the coverage from WPTV News on our very successful 100-Hole Challenge event at the Medalist Par 3 Course.

Please visit our 100-Hole fundraising website to support our many players.  You can be entered for a chance to win a trip to Pebble Beach!

Huge SHOUT OUT to our sponsors Amazon Web Services, Holderness Bourne, and The Andrew & Robin Philanthropic Fund.

sponsors

Ben And Gabbie Attend Level Two Training

Chapter coaches Ben Miller, PGA, and Gabbie Budd, LPGA, attended Level 2 First Tee Coach Training hosted by First Tee – North Florida.

On Friday and Saturday mornings of the training, all the coaches spent time in the classroom learning the new curriculum and how to write lesson plans. In the afternoon, the coaches took turns teaching the lesson plans to the other coaches who acted as the participants. They then flipped their roles to act as participants themselves. On Sunday, 18 of First Tee – North Florida’s real students test ran the new lesson plans. The kids and coaches knocked it out of the park.

First Time On The Course

Every Tuesday, Coach Ben Miller, PGA, hosts two hours of junior golf programming at The Shores of North River Golf Club. Recently, his older kids group experienced the golf course for the first time. Starting 50 yards from the hole, Coach Ben challenged Sammy, Miguel, Theo, and Greyson to see who could get the lowest score. Even though Sammy put his first shot 10′ above the hole, all four boys ended up making 5! We have a great group of Game Changers at this program location! 

Congrats To Mia The Cheetah

Congratulations Mia “Cheetah” Baez! She was recently invited to play in the U.S. Kids PGA Golf Club Invitational. 

Cheetah shot a 49 on the first day.  She knew there was work to do to move up in the rankings. On day two, Coach Gabbie Budd, LPGA, decided to caddie for Cheetah, and her game improved. Her score lowered to a 42, which won her second place!

We are all so proud of Cheetah! She has made amazing progress in the last 11 months, and we cannot wait to see what this Game Changer is going to achieve in the future.

Cheetah has been an active participant in Coach Gabbie’s programs. She has been playing golf for roughly 11 months and is blossoming into a brilliant young golfer.