This may be a little off the beaten path because I’m writing about an event in LaVerne, but bear with me. I got involved in a charity golf tournament awhile back to help out some friends, Greg DeSmet and Vicki Brown, and told them I would try and line up a few celebrities. It took some doing, but just today I got confirmations from Jerry West and James Worthy that they would participate — Worthy will play in the tournament while West is just coming to the post-tournament dinner.
Larry Stewart
Hope I have your interest by now. If not, some other celebrities who committed earlier are Elgin Baylor, Bill Sharman, former Dodgers Bill Russell, Al Downing and Tommy Davis, former UCLA basketball coach Jim Harrick, UCLA football announcers Chris Roberts and Matt Stevens, and former UCLA and NFL wide receiver Michael Young, now a top executive with the Dodgers. Getting more interested?
So here’s the deal: What promises to be a unique, star-studded, fun-filled, and memorable charity golf tournament will be held this Thursday, Oct. 28, at Sierra La Verne Country Club. It’s only about 15 miles east of Arcadia. And get this! The entry fee is only $150 per player ($500 for a foursome). Tee off time is noon. It’s all for a good cause: the tournament benefits Sowing Seeds for Life, a 501(c) (3) non-profit that provides food for people in difficult situations due to illness, accident or misfortune. Sowing Seeds for Life (SSFL) began distributing food in December 2007 to some 100 people a month in the La Verne area and now serves more than 5,000 a month. This is the second year of the best-ball scramble tournament benefiting SSFL, and it has been taken to a higher level by an energetic tournament committee headed by co-chairmen Tim Grant and Al Snow. Following the tournament, Los Angeles Times sports columnist Bill Dwyre of San Dimas, formerly the newspaper’s sports editor, will moderate a Q&A session with three or four of the celebrities. Questions from the audience will also be welcomed. This sports roundtable figures to be a highlight of the day.
The post-tournament festivities — planned to be both fast-paced and fascinating — will also feature complimentary cocktails, dinner, a live auction and notification of raffle-prize winners, with a live jazz band providing entertainment and background music. Among the auction items are four prime Laker tickets donated by the team’s executive vice president, Jeanie Buss, and a Pau Gasol autographed ball. There will be other items of this ilk as well. Other tournament highlights include a helicopter golf ball drop with a first prize of $1,500 (for the ball closest to the hole) and a $500 consolation prize (for the ball farthest from the hole), a professional magician from the Magic Castle, a long drive and trick-shot exhibition, plus lunch, on-course beer and soft drinks, margaritas and more. On top of all that is a challenging and picturesque golf course: Sierra La Verne. (Note: The course’s dress code includes no metal spikes, no jeans, Bermuda-length shorts, and collared shirts.)
For further information, go to www.sowingseedsforlife.org or contact Vicki Brown at 909-392-5777, ext. 213. Her e-mail address is vbrown@sowingseedsforlife.org. You can also e-mail Consandra Gutierrez at cvgutierrez@dpilabs.com. Another contact is tournament coorindator Tim Haas, who can be reached at 909 261-9617 or timhaastournamentgolf@yahoo.com.
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