Forty four teams, 36 holes and more than 40 celebrity team captains recently came together to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Phil Niekro Golf Classic, an annual golf tournament to benefit the Edmondson Telford Center for Children. Major League Baseball Hall of Fame Pitcher Phil Niekro started the tournament, along with center staff and supporters, in 1996 – even before the center opened in 1997.
“We knew we had a need for a child advocacy center to serve Hall and Dawson counties, but we were in desperate need of funding,” said Lydia Sartain, former district attorney for Hall and Dawson counties who was a driving force behind the opening of the center.
“Phil and I met around that time, and I told him about our initiative. He said, ‘Let me know if I can help.’ Twenty years and $1 million later, he’s still asking – and answering – that question.”
The Edmondson Telford Center provides services to Hall and Dawson County children who are victims of sexual or severe physical abuse or neglect, as well as their non-offending family members. The Center provides a safe environment for crisis intervention and medical advocacy as the victim moves through the examination and investigation stages. The center opened in 1997 and serves more than 300 children free-of-charge annually – totaling more than 10,000 children served since their opening. The high quality evidence gathered through forensic interviews and medical examinations has proven critical in the successful prosecution of countless offenders and has increased the prosecution rates of child offenders in Hall and Dawson counties. The Center serves as a central coordination point for multiple agencies involved in child abuse cases to ensure that no child “falls through the cracks.”
“The Phil Niekro Golf Classic has been the foundation of keeping our center open during the past 20 years, including helping to fund the construction of our new building, The Little House, in 2009,” said Heather Hayes, executive director of the Center. “The work we do would not be possible without Phil’s determined efforts.”
“Many celebrities lend their names to help raise money for worthy causes,” said Jane Carpenter, tournament coordinator. “But Phil’s work with the tournament has never been about just lending his name – he works tirelessly, year-round, to make this fundraiser a success – from attending and leading every golf committee meeting to convincing more than 40 of his celebrity athlete buddies to come play in the tournament each year to calling on businesses for donations to help keep the costs of our tournament low. Phil’s commitment to the Center is tremendous.”
The 2016 tournament was held on October 20 at the Woodlands Course at Chateau Elan.
Carpenter said they won’t know the total amount raised from this year’s tournament until they are able to tabulate all that came in during the day, but each year’s tournament usually brings in about $70,000 - $80,000.
For more information about the Edmondson Telford Center for Children, visit www.etcenterforchildren.org
