PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. and ATLANTA − First Tee, a youth development organization that helps kids and teens build their strength of character through golf, is partnering with PGA TOUR Superstore to hold their second-annual Leadership Summit from Aug. 1-12.
Forty teenagers from across the country have been selected to attend this year’s Summit, hosted at PGA TOUR Superstore Chairman and First Tee Board Member Arthur M. Blank’s West Creek Ranch in Montana.
Twenty of the selected youths will participate in the first week from Aug. 1-5 and 20 others will attend from Aug. 8-12.
The diverse group of participants – 24 young women and 16 young men – on average have spent seven years in the First Tee program and their average GPA is 3.85. From an aspiring Urban Planner who wants to ensure underserved communities have access to public facilities to a researcher who wants to cure food allergies, many of the participants already have impressive plans for careers that will improve their communities.
The First Tee Leadership Summit is designed to strengthen leadership skills through dynamic outdoor and team-building activities with the intended purpose of personal growth, education and coming together to make a difference. The curriculum explores concepts such as positive risk-taking, relationship building and identifying character strengths.
Set in the unforgettable backdrop of West Creek Ranch, the Summit will give teens the opportunity to participate in outdoor activities such as golf, fly fishing, yoga, meditation, horseback riding, archery, whitewater rafting and hiking, and will be encouraged to apply their learnings through these activities.
For the second consecutive year, former NFL standout and motivational speaker Michael Vick will be a featured guest speaker during the first week of the Summit. Professional golfer Shasta Averyhardt will be featured the second week.
At the conclusion of the Summit, four students will be selected for the First Tee College Scholarship Program and will receive financial support as well as access to mentorship and professional development opportunities throughout their four-year collegiate experience.
“In our first year, we saw a group of incredible teenagers participate in a transformative experience which changed their outlook on life and leadership,” said Dick Sullivan, President & CEO, PGA TOUR Superstore. “We are committed to supporting First Tee and to be a part of something impactful and meaningful in the students’ lives.”
“Congratulations to the 40 teens selected for this one-of-a-kind leadership event,” added Greg McLaughlin, First Tee CEO. “As we saw last year, the summit provides an opportunity for these talented teens to immerse themselves in personal growth that will help them strengthen their leadership skills while forging deep relationships with peers from across the country.
“We are once again grateful to Arthur Blank and PGA TOUR Superstore for supporting our mission as we work to empower the next generation through intentional and innovative opportunities like the First Tee Leadership Summit.”
To be eligible for the Summit, teens participated in a five-week Leadership Series that was hosted at PGA TOUR Superstore locations across the country this spring. Teens also completed applications and were selected based on character-driving criteria.
For more than a decade, PGA TOUR Superstore and Arthur Blank have championed First Tee’s mission through charitable and in-kind donations across the country. In September 2020, PGA TOUR Superstore announced a new grant that will help First Tee reach more youth across the U.S. and strengthen its curriculum for teenage participants, including the development of the Leadership Series, Summit and scholarships.
The Leadership Summit is one of several national opportunities provided by First Tee Headquarters to inspire and equip teens on a deeper level as they progress through the program and toward higher education opportunities.
FIRST TEE LEADERSHIP SUMMIT PARTICIPANTS – AUG. 1-5
Name First Tee Chapter
Braden Bernaldo First Tee — Coachella Valley (CA)
Anna Brown First Tee — Coastal Carolinas (NC)
Aidan Cervetti First Tee — Tampa Bay
Katelyn Chan First Tee — Silicon Valley (CA)
Myles Cobb First Tee — Greater Chicago
Matthew Cook First Tee — Metro Atlanta
Jacie Goodman First Tee — Florida Gold Coast
Maleyna Gregorio First Tee — Coachella Valley (CA)
Wesley Helmer First Tee — Greater San Antonio
Ava Hurtado First Tee — Greater Austin
Zara Karim First Tee — Greater Washington, DC
Carson Kawabata First Tee — Utah
Isabella Lohr First Tee — Greater Dallas
Jake Myre First Tee — Tucson
Victoria Ocampo Acosta First Tee — Orange County (CA)
Alanis Santiago Maldonado First Tee — North Florida
Ethan Selvers First Tee — Metropolitan New York
Anay Sigala First Tee — Fort Worth
Saloni Somia First Tee — Minnesota
Isabella Zamarron First Tee — Greater Houston
FIRST TEE LEADERSHIP SUMMIT PARTICIPANTS – AUG. 8-12
Name First Tee Chapter
Mahek Acharya First Tee — Greater Chicago
Dominic Clayton First Tee — North Florida
Eliana Damsgard First Tee — Minnesota
Saidah DaSilva First Tee — Massachusetts
Haady Elneser First Tee — Florida Gold Coast
Isabella Herrera First Tee — Silicon Valley (CA)
Kyzar Joshi First Tee — Massachusetts
Sarah Kohler First Tee — Metropolitan New York
James Labukas First Tee — Tucson
Joshua Lee First Tee — Greater Austin
Elise McGirt First Tee — Raritan Valley (NJ)
Gabriella G. Mercado First Tee — Orange County (CA)
Katherine Miskimen First Tee — Phoenix
Abi Newell First Tee — Greater Houston
Josephine Nguyen First Tee — Greater Washington, DC
Carson Platt First Tee — Coastal Carolinas (NC)
Jaylyn Remolona First Tee — San Francisco
Isabella Rubio First Tee — Florida Gold Coast
Jacob Ryan First Tee — Central Florida
Isaac Stewart First Tee — Central Ohio
