Media Contacts:
The Club Foundation – Melissa Low, melissa.low@cmaa.org
Tee It Up for the Troops – Tim Wegscheid, President/Executive Director for Tee It Up for the Troops, tim@teeitupforthetroops.org
Alexandria, VA – The Club Foundation is excited to announce that it has surpassed more than $100,000 in contributions to Tee It Up for the Troops, a national 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that serves U.S. military veterans and their families. Since 2008, The Club Foundation has donated $108,200 to Tee It Up for the Troops, providing much-needed support to assist the organization in fulfilling its mission to help veterans and military families successfully reintegrate into their communities.
The Club Foundation’s most recent contribution of $20,000 was presented to Tee It Up for the Troops at the Club Managers Association of America (CMAA) 90th World Conference on Club Management and Club Business Expo in Orlando, FL, in February. The check was presented to Tim Wegscheid, Tee It Up for the Troops President and Executive Director; Matthew Terry, Navy veteran and Tee It Up for the Troops employee; and David Booth, a 20 year Army Master Sergeant (Ret.) and Purple Heart recipient, who served as a combat medic and was severely injured in September 2006 in Iraq. These men were acknowledged with a standing ovation from CMAA’s attendees for their service to their country.
Since 2005, Tee It Up for the Troops has hosted more than 360 golf fundraising events across the nation and has donated more than $7 million to various veteran service organizations. Their financial support is targeted across the most pressing areas of need including: housing, sports rehabilitation, treatment of PTSD and TBI, service dogs and arts therapy, suicide prevention, emergency support, employment and caregiver support.
Tim Wegscheid, Tee It Up for the Troops President and Executive Director, shared: “We are thankful for The Club Foundation’s ongoing and generous support. It is vital to help military veterans and their families, and it is clearly helping to make a positive difference in their lives.”
About The Club Foundation
The Club Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, was established by CMAA in 1988. The Foundation seeks to fund the life cycle of a club manager’s career, providing financial support for five key areas: students, faculty, club managers, CMAA chapters and the club industry at large. It supports the advancement of club management professionals, funding industry education programs through scholarships and grants. Learn more at www.clubfoundation.org.
The military honorary ceremony was the highlight of the day. This event included a stirring tribute to the men and women of our military, past and present, complete with a Bag Pipe Call to Arms, Honor Guard honoring all service branches, Invocation, National Anthem sung by local celebrity Holly Kirsten, dove release, fireworks, and a flyover with T-34 and C-6 fighter planes that served in the Korean War.
“It’s hard to express in words how I felt after that experience, but I know I let go of something deep and feel that this experience is going to allow me to maintain that positive attitude while giving me the courage to live a meaningful life with my children. ” – Veteran Participant, Art Program
Currently, we accommodate 6-8 warriors per class. Our goal for 2017 is to increase class sizes to 10 members, as we try our hardest to fight against the suicide epidemic of post-9/11 heroes. The additional kennel is key to meeting this goal. It allows us to have more dogs available and ready to pair with the warriors who need them most. In 2016, we graduated 72 warrior-canine teams! That indicates a total of 144 lives saved last year, counting just graduates. However, our statistics are even better than that, because we saved a total of 190 dogs! Those that weren’t evaluated as good fits for service work were adopted into homes of eager, dedicated dog lovers.
“I tried everything under the sun, from medications to neurological treatments. After going through K9s’ program, I now have peace of mind that my future will be better than my past. K9s saves veterans, making them functional citizens, with the help of an animal that would’ve most likely been euthanized. I now have hope for my life.” – Brad & Bear, November 2016 graduates.
