Del Webb Father/Son Challenge’s Family Focus Extends To Support For Arnold Palmer Hospital For Children

ChampionsGate, FL - As a unique tournament featuring the pairings of golf legends with their sons, family has always been a major theme of the annual Del Webb Father/Son Challenge, and each year a big part of the emphasis on family comes through the tournament’s support for the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children.

Two years ago, at only five years old, Gavin Fitzgerald wanted to raise money for less fortunate kids through golf, and with the help of his parents, organized a fundraising tournament in 2007 to benefit the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children. Gavin’s Kids Fore Kids tournament brought together kids aged 4-17, their families, neighbors and local sponsors to raise just over $10,000 for the Hospital and culminated with young Gavin presenting a check to Arnold Palmer himself.

“When I tell people Gavin’s story, the response is always amazement,” said Wes Bishop, Major Gifts Officer for the Arnold Palmer Medical Center Foundation. “For a five-year-old boy to have such a caring and giving outlook at that age is very special. He has an eye and a heart for kids, and he has done an amazing job raising money through his tournament, but even more importantly, he has inspired people to examine what they can do for others in our community.”

“There were so many parents, as well as kids, who came up to us during the tournament and just couldn’t thank us enough,” said Sondra Fitzgerald, Gavin’s mother. “They loved getting the kids involved in raising money for the hospital, and the families really enjoyed themselves.”

Due to extenuating circumstances, Gavin was not able to hold his Kids Fore Kids tournament in 2008, but both the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and the Del Webb Father/Son Challenge have extended their commitment to assist him in resurrecting the tournament in 2009.

Florida State Golf Association Announces
Tournament Sites for Two Majors in 2009

The Florida State Golf Association is pleased to announce the locations for two major championships in 2009. The 92nd Florida State Amateur will be held at TPC Sawgrass and Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach June 25-28. The Florida Open Championship will be co-hosted by Quail Valley C.C. and John’s Island West in Vero Beach July 17-19.

Started in 1914, the FSGA State Amateur is the oldest continuous sporting event in the state and it is the largest amateur event in Florida. Past Amateur champions include Bob Murphy, Jerry Pate, Buddy Alexander, and PGA Tour players David Peoples, Chris Couch, and Barry Cheesman. The Pete Dye-designed PLAYERS Stadium Course is home to one of the most challenging and photographed holes in the world, the famed 17th Island Green. Sawgrass Country Club features 27 holes of championship golf designed by Ed Seay of Palmer Course Design. Both courses have held the PGA Tour’s THE PLAYERS Championship, one of the most coveted titles in golf.

In 2008, the Florida State Golf Association acquired the rights to run the Florida Open Championship in association with the Dixie, North Florida and South Florida PGA Sections. Past Florida open champions include Gardner Dickenson, Don Blispinghoff, J.C. Goosie, Bob Murphy, Gary Koch, Eddie Pearce, Charles Owens, Larry Mowry, Bruce Fleisher, Donnie Hammond, John Huston, Bart Bryant and Dudley Hart. Qualifiers will be held throughout the state starting in June for Florida residents who are PGA Section Professionals, Golf Professionals working full time at Florida golf courses and top Amateurs.

For more information on the Championships visit our website at: www.fsga.org. 

New Solar Powered-Golf Cart Introduced to
Explore New “Green” Transport Options

Universal City, California – Universal Studios Hollywood today became the first movie studio and theme park to introduce a solar powered golf cart as a means of employee transportation.

The device, created to achieve savings in fossil fuel use and carbon emissions and to replace the familiar gas-powered studio transportation staples, was designed and manufactured by the Cruise Car company.

On hand to mark the occasion were Universal Studios Hollywood President and COO, Larry Kurzweil and Environmental Media Association President Debbie Levin, joined by Universal employees and special guests, Shrek and The Mummy.

The introduction of the solar-powered golf cart coincided with the environmental awareness initiative, Green is Universal™, that is being observed this week across all the company’s divisions.

Universal Studios Hollywood is committed to energy conservation and has been effective in creating “Green” opportunities through environmentally conscious theme park ride construction. The parks’ new “The Simpsons Ride” debuted this past summer to a series of dramatic savings in energy consumption achieved through the use of new lighting technologies, new technologies in electric motor drives and through cutting-edge software designed to control hydraulic systems for maximum efficiency.

Universal Studios Hollywood is also the firstever theme park to be awarded the Environmental Media Association’s Green Seal Award for achievements in environmental awareness.