25 YEARS OF GOLFING IS HELPING TO KEEP THE
CHILDREN OF SOUTH FLORIDA SAFE

The South Florida Golf Course Superintendents Association (SFGCSA) will be holding its 25th Annual Tournament on Friday, October 23, 2009 to benefit the Lake Park, Florida Branch of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children® (NCMEC).  To recognize the 25th anniversary of the tournament, the SFGCSA Board of Directors has set a fundraising goal of $25,000.  Since the first SFGCSA tournament in 1984 it has raised more than $300,000 for NCMEC.

“NCMEC began its work out of tragic circumstances.  In 1981 six-year old Adam Walsh was abducted from a Florida shopping mall and later found brutally murdered.  That is when I first met John and Revé Walsh who learned first-hand there was no national system to deal with the problem.” said Ernie Allen, president and CEO of NCMEC.  “Today there is NCMEC which has become the national leader in reuniting families and protecting children.” 

This year the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children celebrates its 25th anniversary.  Today more children come home than ever before.  In 2008, NCMEC helped recover more children than any other year in the organization’s 25-year history raising the recovery rate from 62% in 1990 to 97% today.   And more of those who prey on children are being identified and prosecuted.  Yet too many children are still missing and too many children are still the victims of sexual exploitation.  An estimated 2,000 children go missing every day.  And 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 10 boys will be sexually victimized before age 18.  There is much more than needs to be done.

“The SFGCSA has been an important long-term supporter and partner of NCMEC,” stated Ernie Allen, president and CEO of NCMEC.  We are proud to be associated with the SFGCSA and grateful for their ongoing support of our mission and their commitment to help keep the children of south Florida safe.”  In 1984, the South Florida Golf Course Superintendents Association board members, including Bill Entwistle Sr. and David Lottes, held the first tournament at Emerald Hills Country Club in Hollywood, Florida which is located several miles from where Adam Walsh was abducted.  Subsequently the site of the tournament moved from Bonaventure to Inverrary Country Club, later it moved again to Colony West Country Club and most  recently it moved to its current home at the Carolina Club in Margate, Florida.    

The tournament committee has changed through the years as well.  Bill Entwistle Sr. turned chairman duties over to his son Billy Entwistle Jr., golf course superintendent/club manager of Flamingo Lakes Golf Club, and in 2008 Billy turned the reigns over to the SFGCSA Board of Directors which will act as the tournament committee.

Economic times are very difficult in 2009, but everyone involved is committed to making the 25th year of the SFGCSA tournament the most successful year ever.  A full field of 152 players is anticipated and area golf industry vendors are being asked to pledge their financial support to help make the 2009 event a record breaking fund-raising success.

NCMEC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.  Since it was established by Congress in 1984, the organization has operated the toll-free 24-hour national missing children’s hotline which has handled more than 2,400,000 calls.  It has assisted law enforcement in the recovery of more than 142,100 children.  The organization’s CyberTipline has handled more than 724,400 reports of child sexual exploitation and its Child Victim Identification Program has reviewed and analyzed more than 25,976,500 child pornography assets and videos.  The organization works in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice’s office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. 

Dear Fellow Members:

In the last 24 years, the Superintendents, Vendors, Volunteers, and Participants have raised
over $423,000 for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Everyone should be proud of these accomplishments. With such a successful event and the overwhelming support from
our good friends in the industry, the S.F.G.C.S.A. Board of Directors are set to do it again.
In our 25th year, this exciting event will be held at the Carolina Club on Friday, October 23rd, 2009.
We commend Nancy McBride and her staff for doing an excellent job helping many South Florida families.Please join us again for an exciting day as we do our small part to help make our world a safer place for children to live.

Sincerely,
S.F.G.C.S.A./Missing Children's
Golf Tournament Committee

LINKS FOR THE TOURNAMENTS FORMS AND RULES

1- Eagle & Golden Eagle Reg. Form

2- SFGCSA Birdie Reg. Form

3-Tournament Reg. Form

4-Supplemental Sponsorship Form

See Here the Rules and Regulations