Rocky Top Therapy Center’s annual “Tee Up For Our Kids” Golf Tournament is set for May 9 at Sky Creek Ranch Golf Club. Tee time will be 1 p.m.

The tournament will raise funds for Rocky Top, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing comprehensive rehabilitation for north Texans who are physically, mentally or emotionally
challenged. Established in 1990 by Vivian and Doug Newton in Keller, TX,  the center is a Premier Accredited Riding Center, as designated through through Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH) International

The fundraising golf tournament will cost $175 per player or $650 per foursome. The price includes a box lunch, dinner, raffles and auctions. Prizes will be awarded to the top three teams.

Registration can be completed online at www.rockytoptherapy.org.  A golf-a-thon also will be held at 1 p.m. a day prior to the tournament for golfers wishing to raise funds through pledges.  Golfers raising more than $1,000 in pledges will be granted free tournament admission.

For more information or to purchase a sponsorship, call Karen Britvich 817-379-5717.

Kathy Whitworth

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Fort Worth will benefit from the 2010 Kathy Whitworth Invitational (www.kathywhitworthinvitational.com) to be held March 14-16 at the Mira Vista Country Club in Fort Worth.

Proceeds from this international junior girls golf championship nationally ranked by Golfweek/Titleist and recognized by the AJGA Polo Golf Rankings will benefit the non-profit organization, which helps more than 12,000 disadvantaged Fort Worth youth each year. Sponsorship opportunities are still available, and details can be found at www.kathywhitworthinvitational.com

Whitworth, seven-time LPGA Player of the Year, boasts six major wins and 88 career wins, an all-time record for both men’s and women’s U.S. Tours. She was the Associated Press Athlete of the Year in 1965 and 1967, was inducted into the LPGA’s Hall of Fame in 1975 and won the PGA First Lady of Golf Award in 2006.

This year, 72 girls aged 12 to 18, from as close as Fort Worth and as far as South Korea, will compete in the Kathy Whitworth Invitational. Fourteen of those girls hail from the Dallas/Fort Worth area, and they include Tezira Abe, Arlington; Talia Campbell, Dallas; Grace Choi, Dallas; Emily Collins, Colleyville; Susanna Feather, Fort Worth; Katie Grady, Mansfield; Kaci McCarten, Plano; April McCoy, Carrollton; Chelsea Mocio, Fort Worth; Rachel Mulkey, Flower Mound; Jennifer Park, Carrollton; Natalie Reeves, Euless; Amy Ruengmateekhun, Garland; and Chaney Uhles, Fort Worth.

International competitors will include golfers from Taiwan, Thailand, Czech Republic, South Korea, Mexico, Canada, England, Italy, Japan, Philippines and Trinidad and Tobago.

The Kathy Whitworth Invitational was established in 1999 with two primary goals: to give talented girls the opportunity to participate at the highest tier of competitive golf on a premier championship course and to generate funds to support the mission of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Fort Worth.

“The young women who take part in this tournament are truly the golf stars of the future,” said Kathy Whitworth, “and what an honor it is for all of us to be part of the amazing work that the Boys & Girls Club accomplishes in this community.”

Whitworth currently resides in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and co-leads a youth golf clinic each year with the Mira Vista Country Club golf staff, prior to the invitational. This year, the clinic will be held at 5:30 p.m. March 11 and will include more than 100 disadvantaged youth from this area.
call 817.834.4711 or visit www.kathywhitworthinvitational.com for details.

OK, so to be totally honest, I have been looking forward to this day for at least a couple of weeks. And what is so special about this day you ask?  Well, it is the first day back to school for my daughter. (Cheers and applause!)

Now don’t get me wrong, I have truly treasured each and every day we have had together this past summer.  Watching her learn to swim and play golf (she has quite a swing), having our special picnics in the family room and just plain old “hanging out” has been absolutely wonderful.  I wouldn’t trade these experiences for anything in the world. These summer vacation memories truly are the ones that I will cherish forever. 

However…with all that fun came a significant downside…like… running behind schedule with work and having to explain during conference calls that my real choice of background music is not songs from Dora the Explorer or whichever Disney princess movie happens to be playing on the television. And I definitely will not miss losing my train to thought when my adorable little one pitches a fit because she can’t find the missing blue crayon. Yes, these precious and frustrating moments will not be missed. 

I know there may be tears of sorrow for some parents when their little ones head back to school. But not for me! Like that Staples commercial shows … It’s the most…wonderful time…of the year, and I for one agree! I now have a better chance of getting work projects completed on time and I no longer have to worry about interruptions during conference calls. I know that my daughter is happy to be back at school, seeing her friends again and engaging in the learning experience. And when she comes home, I’m energized and ready to really make the after school time special between the two of us. Yes…she’s headed back to school, and I am crying tears of happiness!

Former president George H.W. Bush chose parachuting out of a plane to mark his 85th, but he’s not the only senior citizen who plans a sporty birthday celebration.

Teeing off on her 90th birthday will be June Rains. The golfer, who began playing in the 1950s, will participate in Meals on Wheels’ annual fundraising golf tournament, using a golf club to celebrate nine decades. The tournament, set for Monday on Trophy Club Country Club’s two courses, benefits the non-profit organization that delivers meals to shut-ins.

Rains, who won four women’s club championships at Oak Cliff Country Club, punctuates this year’s tournament, which sports a decidedly female flair. LPGA legend Kathy Whitworth, for whom one of the Trophy Club courses is named, is serving as this year’s honorary chair and will be available for photos with all teams.

Also new this year is a golf flight dedicated exclusively to women golfers.

The tournament, among the largest in north Texas, raised approximately $90,000 last year to fund meal programs for seniors and shut-ins in Tarrant, Denton and Wise counties.  Close to 60,000 meals were delivered last year, and the annual tournament serves as a major fundraiser for the program.

The tournament, which features both morning and afternoon shotgun starts, is preceded by the Annual Tee-Off Dinner and Auction at Trophy Club Country Club. This year’s dinner will include a benefit concert by Roanoke resident Cody Jinks, after the auction conducted by Rick Stacy.

Tickets for the dinner are $30, and limited spots are still available for the golf tournament. Contact Metroport Meals on Wheels at 817-491-1141 or check www.metroportmow.org, for more information.