Our sold-out 17th Annual UMPS CARE Charities Golf Classic was a huge success at the Legacy Golf Club in Phoenix, Arizona.
With Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball Umpires golfing and mingling with supporters, there was plenty of fun to be had on the links – and all for a great cause in UMPS CARE Charities.
We were especially delighted to honor Mr. Tom Drake with our All-Heart Award for his longtime service as an UMPS CARE volunteer. Mr. Drake, who has been involved in the Golf Classic for years and supports Calling for Christ, has helped so much behind the scenes to make the Golf Classic what it is today. We also honored board member Ken Arimitsu with our UMPS CARE Ambassador Award.
We were honored and grateful to have many sponsors supporting the Golf Classic.
Thank you, Tito’s Handmade Vodka for joining us as a Grand Slam Sponsor and to Joseph Wolfe and the Stephen J. Wolfe Jr.Foundation for their support for the charity.
UMPS CARE Charities also wishes to thank Major League Baseball, the MLBUA, Bay Area Sports Officials (BASO), John Holmberg, Sanderson Ford, Ump-Attire.com, Calling For Christ, Michael Chukerman, Larry and Joan Young, and Adam Dowdy and Umpire Focus for their support.
We also were delighted to have Sandi Gomez and the D’Backs Give Back as returning supporters and board member Paul Vetrano of Deloitte in the house. Deloitte and Michael Alkin have made it possible for UMPS CARE to fund not one, but two, All-Star College Scholarship recipients this year. Each recipient receives $10,000 annually to fund their college education, in addition to ongoing mentorship provided by MLB Umpires and their families.
One of our recent All-Star College Scholarship graduates, Katherine Atkins (pictured above), who earned her college degree at Appalachian State University and now works in the insurance industry in Charlotte, gave an impassioned speech about her journey. The scholarship is awarded to a student who was adopted later in life.
Thank you to Matt Nebel and his staff at the Legacy Golf Club, and special shout out to all of the volunteers – many of whom were setting up the course in the predawn hours!
Congratulations to first-place winners: Joseph Wolfe, John Cheney, Kyle Thornburg, Jimmy Valdez and MLB Umpire Bill Miller. Congrats also to Dan McGinnis, winner of our first-ever mega-putt competition, Tara Trzinski (longest drive, women), and Dave Doehring (longest drive, men). Thanks to Joe Perez and OTW Bats for creating the customized first-place bat prizes, and Stan Schmidt and Turn2Workshop for the customized home plates for our runners-up!
And did we mention that Jason Svedberg aced the seventh hole? Wow! It was not on the hole in one hole, where someone could have won a Ford Mustang from Sanderson Ford, but it was a pretty awesome feat! Needless to say, Jason won our prize for being Closest to the Pin (sponsored by Calling For Christ). Check out the pic of Jason and the crew from the Arby’s Foundation (below, right) with MLB Umpire Dan Iassogna.
We appreciate each and everyone of you who joined us!
Special thanks to photographer Arianna Grainey for capturing all of these amazing moments!
