Tag: high school golf

First Tee — Greater Richmond participant Niki Chan invited to play PGA TOUR Champions’ PURE Insurance Championship Impacting First Tee at Pebble Beach

Niki Chan will play in the 21st annual PURE Insurance Championship this September

Richmond, Va. (July 8, 2024) – First Tee and PGA TOUR Champions announced today that Niki Chan will represent First Tee — Greater Richmond when she competes in the 2024 PURE Insurance Championship Impacting First Tee. The event, in its 21st year, will bring teens from First Tee chapters to Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course for the PGA TOUR Champions tournament, Sept. 17-22. The annual event, hosted by the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, is televised nationally on Golf Channel.

Chan is a rising senior at Manchester High School in Midlothian and has been a First Tee – Greater Richmond participant for 10 years. A member of First Tee – Greater Richmond’s Junior Advisory Board (JAB), Chan represented the chapter at the First Tee Game Changers Academy in 2023. This week, she will be part of the First Tee – Greater Richmond team competing at the Redmond Cup presented by Troutman Pepper July 10-11 at Belmont.

The trip to the PURE Insurance Championship marks the second straight year a First Tee – Greater Richmond participant has been chosen for the prestigious event, with Chan joining Meg Lavinder as recent chapter participants.

“Congratulations to Niki for this well-deserved honor and opportunity to represent First Tee – Greater Richmond on a national stage at the PURE Insurance Championship,” Kelly Brown, First Tee – Greater Richmond Vice President of Impact said. “She is a fantastic role model on and off the golf course and exemplifies the values we hope to instill in our participants and our community. When Niki began our program she was super quiet and soft spoken and to see her find her voice and come into her own is one of many examples of our evidence-based, life skills curriculum.”

This unique event pairs each First Tee participant with a PGA TOUR Champions player and amateurs from the business world. Ranging in ages from 15 to 18, the First Tee players compete for the male/female pro-junior team title. The teens represent 45 First Tee chapters from across the country and for the fourth year in a row, a participant from First Tee — Morocco will be in the field.

Participants were selected by a national panel of judges based on their personal growth and development through First Tee’s programs, as well as their playing ability. The group averages a 3.89 GPA and has spent an average of seven years in First Tee.

“I’m so proud to continue our involvement with this incredible organization,” said Katie Krum, Chief Marketing Officer at PURE Insurance. “I know firsthand the impact and value that participating in youth sports can have on one’s development, so it is personally gratifying to know that our support impacts such a remarkable group of young men and women.”

The full junior field was revealed live on Golf Channel’s “Golf Today” earlier today.  

“This is an exciting moment for these 80 participants, many of whom have been working for years with the goal of earning a spot in this tournament,” said Greg McLaughlin, First Tee CEO. “Thank you to our partners at PURE Insurance, PGA TOUR Champions, Pebble Beach Resorts, Monterey Peninsula Foundation and Golf Channel for their support of this special week, which is full of lessons for our teens, both on and off the golf course.”

This year’s field of PGA TOUR Champions players will feature legends including Ernie Els and Vijay Singh, and as well as three-time PURE Insurance Championship winner Kirk Triplett and Thongchai Jaidee, who will defend his title. Clint Eastwood serves as chairman of the PURE Insurance Championship.

Play will be conducted on Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course on Friday and Saturday. The final round will be contested solely at Pebble Beach Golf Links on Sunday, where 24 First Tee juniors will compete based on their 36-hole performance. The tournament will crown one male and one female First Tee junior champion on Sunday.

More than 1,000 teens from First Tee have played in the PURE Insurance Championship, experiencing the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet, play and be mentored by PGA TOUR Champions players and amateurs.

First Tee is a youth development organization that teaches life skills and helps kids and teens build their strength of character through golf. The PURE Insurance Championship is one of several national opportunities provided by First Tee Headquarters to encourage and motivate participants as they progress through the program and toward higher education opportunities.

The junior field for 2024 PURE Insurance Championshipcan be viewed here.

For more information on the tournament, visit PUREInsuranceChampionship.com. To learn more about First Tee, visit FirstTee.org.

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About First Tee – Greater Richmond

First Tee – Greater Richmond is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit youth development organization whose mission is to impact the lives of young people by providing educational programs that build character, instill life-enhancing values, and promote healthy choices through the game of golf. Through three major programming areas, First Tee Programs, School Program and Community Partnerships, First Tee – Greater Richmond reaches approximately 70,000 youth annually. Learn more at www.FirstTeeRVA.org.

About Monterey Peninsula Foundation

Surpassing $200 million in total donations, Monterey Peninsula Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization that donates funds from the proceeds of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on the PGA TOUR and the PURE Insurance Championship Impacting First Tee at Pebble Beach, a PGA TOUR Champions tournament. The Foundation focuses on improving the quality of life in Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito Counties.

www.montereypeninsulafoundation.org

www.attpbgolf.com

www.pureinsurancechampionship.org

About PURE Insurance

Privilege Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange (PURE) Insurance is a property and casualty insurance company designed exclusively for successful, responsible families. We opened for business more than 15 years ago with the goal of offering something different in the insurance space: a company focused on doing what’s right for our membership (policyholders), one that promotes transparency and alignment of interests, and delivers greater value. Today, after growing at least 15% in each year since we began, we are the most awarded insurer in our category, offer coverage in all 50 states that includes high value homeowners, automobile, collections, watercraft, personal excess liability, fraud & cyber and flood to a membership of more than 100,000 individuals and families.

Pureinsurance.com | 888.813.7873

About PGA TOUR Champions 

PGA TOUR Champions is a membership organization of professional golfers age 50 and older, including 34 members of the World Golf Hall of Fame. The Tour’s mission is to provide financial opportunities for its players, entertain and inspire its fans, deliver substantial value to its partners, create outlets for volunteers to give back and generate significant charitable and economic impact in tournament communities. Follow PGA TOUR Champions online at PGATOUR.com, at facebook.com/PGATOURChampions, on Twitter @ChampionsTour and on Instagram @pgatourchampions. 

All events are televised in the United States, with most receiving complete coverage on Golf Channel, the exclusive cable-television partner of PGA TOUR Champions. Tournament programming is available via 25+ TV linear partners in 145+ countries and territories, with 25 channels carrying long-form and/or highlights coverage, and 200+ hours of live coverage distributed in 135+ countries and territories. Programming is also available via the OTT platform GOLFTV powered by PGA TOUR in every market outside of the United States, excluding China and Korea, with live coverage distributed in 130+ countries and territories. 

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First Tee — Greater Richmond teen selected for First Tee Game Changers Academy Honoring Joe Louis Barrow, Jr.

Niki Chan is one of 72 teens chosen for the five-day learning and empowerment academy

Richmond, Va. (July 17, 2023) – Niki Chan from First Tee — Greater Richmond has been selected to attend the First Tee Game Changers Academy Honoring Joe Louis Barrow, Jr. in Philadelphia, July 18-22. Chan is one of 72 teens from the First Tee network who has been selected for the five-day learning and empowerment academy and will participate in critical conversations around issues of identity, racism, equity and empathy.

Chan is a rising senior at Manchester High School in Midlothian and has been a First Tee – Greater Richmond participant for nine years.

“We are elated to have Niki represent First Tee – Greater Richmond at the First Tee Game Changers Academy,” Kelly Brown, First Tee – Greater Richmond Vice President for Impact, said. “When Niki began our program she was super quiet and soft spoken and to see her find her voice and come into her own is one of many examples of our evidence-based, life skills curriculum.

“I know Niki will make a huge impact at the Game Changers Academy, and we are excited to have her return and share the lessons learned in Philadelphia.”

The week will kick off with a ‘Critical Conversation’ hosted by RISE on Tuesday, July 18, featuring 8-year NFL veteran, Philadelphia native and member of the Baltimore Ravens Daryl Worley, First Tee – Greater Washington D.C. alumnus and professional golfer, Marcus Byrd, and Lodge Grass High School Head Basketball Coach Josh Stewart. Scarlen Martinez, the Sr. Director of Empowerment at RISE will moderate the panel about how sports lead to access and can help address societal inequalities. 

RISE, a national nonprofit and leader in the sports community championing social justice and working to improve race relations, will also facilitate engaging and interactive workshops throughout the week. The workshops will explore a multitude of topics that encourage personal growth and understanding of diversity concepts that foster positive change in the community.  The workshops will be paired with reflections led by our nationally trained First Tee coaches, team-building activities such as the Villanova Challenge Course, and golf outings at Walnut Lane Golf Club where they will continue to build relationships with other participants from around the country and learn from each other’s unique perspectives.

This Academy is an evolution of First Tee’s longest-standing participant event. The Academy honors First Tee’s former CEO, Joe Louis Barrow, Jr., who led the organization from 2000 until his retirement in 2017. It’s one of several national opportunities provided by First Tee headquarters designed to inspire and encourage high school students on a deeper level as they progress through the program and toward higher education opportunities.  .

Chan will be the first of two First Tee – Greater Richmond participants taking part in a First Tee national program this summer. Meg Lavinder will represent First Tee — Greater Richmond at the 2023 PURE Insurance Championship Impacting First Tee in September.

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About First Tee – Greater Richmond
Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2023, First Tee – Greater Richmond is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit youth development organization whose mission is to impact the lives of young people by providing educational programs that build character, instill life-enhancing values, and promote healthy choices through the game of golf. Through three major programming areas, First Tee Programs, School Program and Community Partnerships, First Tee – Greater Richmond reached more than 75,000 youth in 2022. Learn more at www.FirstTeeRVA.org.

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Henry Powell Selected to First Tee Innovators Forum

RICHMOND, Va. (Sept. 15, 2022) – Henry Powell from First Tee — Greater Richmond has been selected to attend the First Tee Innovators Forum November 16-19 in Dallas, Texas. The forum will empower First Tee teens to develop a meaningful service project in their communities focusing on raising awareness on issues surrounding education, health and sustainability.

Powell, 15, is sophomore at Appomattox Regional Governor’s School and has been a participant at First Tee – Greater Richmond for five years. He serves on the organization’s Junior Advisory Board in addition to volunteering and coaching with First Tee – Greater Richmond and competing on the Dragons’ varsity golf team.

Interactive workshops and small breakout sessions during the forum will cover a variety of topics including the importance of community service, volunteerism, and environmental sustainability, and will be presented by experts in the respective fields. During the workshops, Powell will have the opportunity to learn from global industry leaders at the three-day summit. At the end of the forum, a total of $32,000 will be awarded to eight attending participants to further their educational pursuits.

“Congratulations to Henry on earning this national opportunity.” said Brittany Woo, Senior Director of Programming at First Tee – Greater Richmond. “Henry has been a shining star since coming to our organization five years ago and is now embracing being a mentor to our life-skills experience participants. We’re excited for him to have another opportunity to meet with other like-minded participants from across the country and continue his path of positively impacting lives in and around Richmond.”

Powell is one of 28 participants selected to attend the Innovators Forum from across First Tee chapters across the country and was selected based on academic achievement, community service, chapter involvement, leadership, essay responses and letters of recommendation. This marks the second consecutive year a participant from First Tee – Greater Richmond was selected to the Innovators Forum, with D’yan Robinson having attended last year.

For more information on First Tee – Greater Richmond, visit www.firstteerva.org.