T
he PGA of America REACH Foundation – the 501(c)(3) charitable foundation of the PGA of America – has launched HOPE 4 Heroes, a national fundraising campaign to support Veterans and Active Duty Military to participate in PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere), the Foundation’s lifesaving rehabilitative golf program.
The HOPE 4 Heroes campaign, which began on Nov. 1 and runs through Dec. 31, celebrates our nation’s Veterans and Active Duty Military, while raising awareness and support for PGA HOPE, the flagship military program of the PGA of America REACH Foundation. Today there are more than 13,000 Veterans on a waiting list to participate in PGA HOPE. Every $330 raised places a Veteran in a local program at no cost to the Veteran.
PGA HOPE is currently offered at more than 550 locations in all 50 states. This year, more than 17,000 Veterans have been served through the program, led by more than 4,000 PGA of America Golf Professionals who have received specialized training in using adaptive golf and military cultural competency.
“PGA HOPE has served more than 50,000 Veterans since the program was launched, and while many battle with daily struggles, I’ve heard from so many that using golf as a platform for healing has saved their life,” says former PGA of America President John Lindert, who’s term concluded at last month’s PGA Annual Meeting.
To complement HOPE 4 Heroes, GOLFTEC – one of the nation’s leading employers of PGA of America Golf Professionals – hosted its annual Drive for Hope Campaign, where GOLFTEC students could receive a free lesson with a $50 donation through Veteran’s Day (Nov. 11). In 2023, GOLFTEC and its team of over 500 PGA of America Golf Professionals raised more than $100,000.
Ozzie Smith, a National Baseball Hall of Famer and friend of the PGA of America’s Gateway Section, has been named the recipient of the 43rd Old Tom Morris Award presented by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA). Smith will be honored Feb. 6 at the 2025 GCSAA Conference and Trade Show in San Diego.
Smith is currently the Gateway PGA REACH President, and for the last 15 years has hosted the annual Ozzie and Friends Gala and Pro-Am, the Gateway PGA Section’s largest fundraiser.
“After a stellar Major League Baseball career, Ozzie embodies the same passion and dedication to the game of golf,” GCSAA CEO Rhett Evans says.
The Old Tom Morris Award is presented to an individual who, through a continuing lifetime commitment to the game of golf, has helped mold the welfare of the game in a manner and style exemplified by Old Tom Morris.
Upon learning he was the recipient of the Old Tom Morris Award, Smith is in awe. “I was overwhelmed. I am humbled,” he says.