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Opening Ceremony, Career Fair kick off 19th
National Minority College Golf Championship
May 5, 2005
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- An opening ceremony
marked the official start to the 19th National Minority College
Golf Championship at the PGA Historical Center in Port St.
Lucie, Fla.
The ceremony featured an outdoor procession of approximately
100 of the top student-athletes and coaches from 21 colleges
and universities, representing 11 countries. PGA of America
Chief Executive Officer Jim Awtrey and Port St. Lucie Sheriff
Ken Mascara were on hand to welcome the participants.
PGA Golf Club is The PGA of America's first owned and operated,
state-of-the-art public golf facility. It marks the eighth
consecutive year that PGA Golf Club has hosted the national
Championship, which is co-sponsored by The PGA of America
and the National Minority College Golf Scholarship Fund
of Cleveland.
During the opening ceremony, State Farm Insurance Companies'
representatives presented National Minority College
Golf Scholarship Fund grants totaling $2,500 to four participants
whose teams are competing in this year's Championship. The
four scholarship recipients are: Brian Demby of Cary, N.C.;
Edward Hills III of Aurora, Ohio; Andre Kelly of Washington,
D.C.; and Kellen Miller of Mocksville, N.C.
"State Farm Insurance is pleased with its relationship
with both The PGA of America and the National Minority College
Golf Championship and is proud to be a part of the first
class event, as golf teaches several of life's lessons, such
as perseverance, integrity and honesty," said John Rosenstock,
State Farm's director of community alliances. "The Championship
helps student athletes attain a college education, which
is very important to State Farm Insurance."
Miller, competing in his third consecutive Championship,
is a junior accounting major at South Carolina State University
in Orangeburg, S.C. He finished tied for 24th in Division
I in both 2003 and 2004.
The three remaining scholarship winners are freshmen and
are participating in their first Championship. Demby is a
criminal justice major at North Carolina Central University
in Durham, N.C.; Hills III is a biology major at Morehouse
College in Atlanta; and Kelly is an accounting major at Johnson
C. Smith University in Charlotte, N.C.
Following the opening ceremony, student-athletes in the
Championship were be granted an opportunity to learn more
about employment possibilities within the golf industry from
some of the finest golf organizations during the 11th annual
Career Fair. Employees from The PGA of America, the United
States Golf Association, State Farm Insurance, American Junior
Golf, National Minority Golf Foundation, Golf Course Superintendents
Association of America, Golf Digest Companies and Titleist & FootJoy
were available to offer guidance and to accept the
resumes of those interested in internships and jobs after
graduation.
"The Career Fair offers the student-athletes an excellent
opportunity to explore the possibilities that are available
to them in the golf industry," said Barbara Douglas,
Independent Golf Industry Consultant, and coordinator of
the Career Fair for the past nine years. "The golf industry
is far-reaching, and it is important for the student-athletes
to know that the golf industry is looking for qualified candidates
of all skills and backgrounds. At the same time, they are
encouraged to work in an industry that they love."
State Farm Insurance and The Golf Channel have combined
to produce a Championship highlight program, which will air
June 9, at 6 p.m. EDT.
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