A packed field of 116 golfers attended the 15th Annual Interfaith Golf Classic at Royal Oaks Country Club on Monday, Sept. 12. The sold-out event raised $126,735 to benefit the nonprofit organization Interfaith Family Services and its mission to empower families in crisis to break the cycle of poverty.
Kimberly Williams, Chief Executive Officer of Interfaith Family Services, addressed the crowd before golfers headed out to a shotgun start, saying, “The Interfaith Golf Classic is always a fun day, but I want you to know you are also doing some serious good. Your support will help families in crisis who are eager to learn the skills needed so they will never be homeless again.”
Members of the Interfaith Golf Classic Committee also spoke, including Ben Eakes and Brian Hegi. In addition to being the Managing Partners of Crossplane Capital, presenting sponsor for the day’s event, the two are members of the Interfaith Board of Directors.
Their remarks were followed by a moving testimonial from Interfaith graduate Rachael Royal, whose life has come full circle. She is now on the board of directors at Interfaith, which was there for her during a period of homelessness over a decade ago.
She said, “Interfaith Family Services taught me how to take tragedy and turn it into triumph. I learned we are greater than our circumstances. We can choose to allow ourselves to be overtaken by our obstacles – or use them as steppingstones on a path to the greatness that lies within us all. I chose the latter.”
Royal Oaks Golf Pro Dean Larsson then released the players to the course. The day’s golf activities included a round of 18 holes, food and beverage stations throughout the course and the opportunity to win an Infiniti QX50 Luxe SUV and other prizes provided by Sewell in a series of hole-in-one contests. While no players won, all had fun trying.
Winners of the day’s competition were announced at the conclusion of play including:
- 1st Place, Gross Score: Wingstop (Eric Hall, Zach Mayor, Jared Pope and Zach Pope)
- 1st Place, Net Score: SCA Transaction Services (Corey Gebert, Kenny Lamb, Chris Parker, Cody Robertson)
- 2nd Place, Net Score: Benchmark Bank (Art Barnes, Thomas Gresham, Fox Haas, Wilson White)
- 3rd Place, Net Score: Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld (Ryan Cox, Brent Sacha, Trevor Vega and Eric Williams)
- Longest Drive: Justin Fraley
- Closest to the Pin, Low Handicap: Corey Gebert, Kevin Wheland
- Closest to the Pin, High Handicap: Jason Ahman, Bryan Ochocki
Special thanks to the generous sponsors of the Interfaith Golf Classic:
- Presenting Sponsor: Crossplane Capital
- Gold Sponsors: The Hegi Family, Triumph Bank
- Awards Reception Sponsors: Margaret Culbertson, PNC Business Credit
- Beverage Cart Sponsor: KattenMuchin Roseman, LLP
- Hole-in-One Sponsors: Hunter Onsite, Kirkland & Ellis, Sewell
- “The Turn” Food Sponsor: Focus Search Partners, IMA Financial Group
- Hole Sponsors: Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, BDO USA, LLP, Benchmark Bank, Chaparral Partners, CLX Ventures, Consilio, Dallas Truck World, Empower Rental Group, KK & Kelly Hine Charitable Trust, SCA Transaction Services, Wingstop, Work Shield, WPA Family Office
ABOUT INTERFAITH FAMILY SERVICES:
For 37 years, Interfaith Family Services has empowered families in crisis to break the cycle of poverty. The organization offers solutions to poverty through both residential and non-residential services. Their Family Empowerment Center houses all programming modeled to eliminate the barriers that keep families in crisis from achieving stability. Services include rent and utility assistance, GED/ESL and vocational training, extended-hours childcare to clients who are currently unemployed, financial coaching to reduce debt and increase savings, and career coaching to develop clients professionally – all at no cost to families. For families who are homeless, Interfaith Family Services owns 23 lovingly decorated and fully furnished apartments that provide transitional housing for six to nine months. They work simultaneously to educate and equip children through the Hope & Horizons Program; this special program is modeled to stabilize at-risk children through a combination of arts and crafts that emphasize creativity, play therapy to address emotional and social issues, individualized tutoring to address common academic gaps, and field trips and camps that expose children to the larger world. The program also includes a self-care and wellness component to help families develop and maintain healthy habits. This holistic combination of services produces results that elevate entire families out of poverty. Approximately 93% of its families’ transition to permanent housing, 78% create a savings safety net with $1,569 on average in savings, and 89% of graduates maintain employment one year later. For more information, visit www.interfaithdallas.org.