TBA golf tourney raises $20,000-plus for 4-H Youth Development Foundation
AUSTIN — Texas Bankers Association, or TBA, through sponsorship of First Financial Bank based in Abilene, raised more than $20,000 for the Texas 4-H Youth Development Foundation through its annual golf tournament earlier this month.
Each year more than 100 bankers and sponsors play in the tournament as part of their annual conference, which was May 1-3 at The Fairmont Hotel in Austin. This year’s charity golf tournament was held at Barton Creek Country Club.
“The Texas 4-H Foundation appreciates the support of the Texas Bankers Association and their dedication to the children of Texas,” said David White, Texas 4-H Youth Development Foundation executive director, College Station. “Their generous contribution will help ensure the success of 4-H programs and will develop responsible, engaged youth who will assume significant roles in our communities.”
The Texas 4-H Youth Development Foundation is the nonprofit fundraising organization for Texas 4-H — the largest youth development program in Texas — serving more than 500,000 youth statewide. Texas 4-H is administered through the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, part of the Texas A&M University System.
As a special feature of the tournament, four years ago a Cheat4Charity hole was added, said tournament coordinators. For this portion, a par-5 hole is selected, as is a nonprofit organization to receive donations made at the hole. Players at this hole pay to “cheat,” allowing them the opportunity to tee off from a lesser distance on a normally difficult par 5.
Most teams combine their donations and ultimately give much more than the minimum required to cheat, coordinators said. At the Cheat4Charity hole, Michael Furrh, holder of the Guinness World Record for the longest usable golf club, also gives participants the opportunity to have fun by using one of his specially constructed oversized clubs.
Even with a smaller playing field than last year, golfers donated $20,160 to their selected charity – the Texas 4-H Youth Development Foundation. The largest donor team, comprised of Mike Mauldin, Scott Carrithers, Jim Goudge and Scott Daugherty, gave $4,000.
“Our golfers have had so much fun at the Cheat4Charity hole the past four years and continue to enjoy the challenge of teeing off with a 9-foot club or using one of Michael’s special drivers,” said Wanda Stevens, president of TBA Services Company Inc., a subsidiary of the Texas Bankers Association.
Stevens, who coordinated the tournament for TBA, said she was pleased with the results.
“Our bankers and sponsors are so very generous, giving with their hearts to worthy organizations like Texas 4–H Youth Development Foundation,” she said. “And volunteers from the Texas 4-H foundation were very fun, friendly and efficient in processing donation payments.”
Writer: Paul Schattenberg, 210-859-5752, paschattenberg@ag.tamu.edu
Contact: David White, 979-845-1213, david.white@ag.tamu.edu
