Around The Southeast
A CURE in a Bottle
Kristin Connor, executive director of Cure Childhood Cancer, met Chris and Tom Glavine in 2004. It wasn’t under the best of circumstances but it would ultimately change the fate of childhood cancer research.
Connor’s son Brandon was diagnosed with cancer in 2001 when he was only five weeks old. Shortly after her son began treatment she became involved with CURE Childhood Cancer, a non-profit organization dedicated to funding pediatric cancer research. Brandon recovered but his mother continued to work in the organization.
Around the same time, there was a child in Glavine’s son’s school whose little brother was suffering from the disease. Through a mutual friend Connor approached the Glavines about helping CURE.
“They jumped in with both feet,” Connor said about the Glavines. “They’re both very strong family people. I think they really empathized with ‘what would we do if we had to go through something like this with our children.’”
That year Glavine, a future Hall-of-Fame pitcher, and his wife approached commissioner Bud Selig. Their efforts resulted in the Commissioner’s Initiative for Kids, which has raised more than $1.5 million for the cause.
Recently, Charity Wines announced that the Glavines were contributing to the fight in a different way, through the Longball Cellars newest wine: “Cabernet Glavingnon.” One hundred percent of the Glavine’s proceeds from the wine (about $1.25 per bottle) goes to CURE Childhood Cancer.
Charity Wine also makes “Chipper (Jones) Chardonnay” (which benefits The Miracle League) and “(Brian) McCann Merlot” (which aids Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research). Available at Kroger, Wal-Mart and other wine outlets and restaurants in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, it also can be purchased at www.charitywines.com.
Chevy Youth Baseball Clinics
At Chevy Youth Baseball Clinics, instructors from the Ripken Baseball Group, current and former coaches and players, take kids through a series of instructional workouts. Every participant receives a T-shirt and snack at the end of the clinic. Sign your son or daughter up at www.chevyyouthbaseball.com.
Here is the schedule for clinics in the Southeast:
Minor League Calendar
Myrtle Beach, S.C – July 9-11 – Myrtle Beach Pelicans’ BB&T Coastal Field
Knoxville, Tenn. – July 9-11 – Tennessee Smokies’ Smokies Park
Jacksonville, Fla. – July 10-12 – Jacksonville Suns’ Baseball Grounds
Mobile, Ala. – July 17-19 – Mobile BayBears’ Hank Aaron Stadium
Nashville, Tenn. – July 24-26 – Nashville Sounds’ Greer Stadium
Wilmington, N.C. – July 30-Aug. 1 – Wilmington Sharks’ Buck Hardee Field
Daytona, Fla. – Aug. 13-15 – Daytona Cubs’ Jackie Robinson Ballpark
Ripken Baseball Calendar
Gainesville, Fla. – July 7-8 – Alachua Recreation Center
Panama City, Fla. – July 9 – Chipola Baseball Complex
Tallahassee, Fla. – July 10-12 – Florida State
Mobile-Pensacola, Fla. - July 13 – Shalimar Sports Complex
Montgomery, Ala. – July 14-16 – Patterson Field
Dothan, Ala. – July 17-19 – Westgate Recreational Park
Bowling Green, Ky. – July 21-23 – Spero Kereiakes Park, Bowling Green Ruff Park
Roanoke, Va. – July 30 July 31; – Motor Mile Baseball Complex, Christiansburg Rivers Edge Sports Complex, Roanoke American Legion Post 325 Field
Greenville-New Bern, N.C. – Aug. 3-4 – Susie Gray Moore McConnell Sports Complex
Tennessee, Virginia and North Carolina – July 24-29 – Bristol White Sox Field; Bristol, Va. Greeneville Astros; Greenville, Tenn., Elizabethton Twins Minor League Park; Elizabethton, Tenn. Cardinal Park; Johnson City, Tenn. University of Virginia College at Wise; Wise, Va. Domtar Park; Kingsport, Tenn.
Sweet Seats Ticket Giveaway
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Is the Next Tiger Woods or Lorena Ochoa Coming to Pinehurst?
About 1,200 golfers from across the United States and 32 other countries will converge on Pinehurst, N.C., in late July for the ninth annual U.S. Kids Golf World Championship.
The international tournament for children 12 and younger has grown dramatically since coming to Pinehurst from Williamsburg, Va., two years ago. In addition to playing at Pinehurst Resort, the kids will stage three days of competition at six other golf courses in the North Carolina Sandhills – one of the nation’s premier golfing destinations.
The highlight of the championship will be Aug. 3 when the best 12-year-olds from the United States tangle with the top international golfers in the U.S. Kids Golf World Cup matches on famed Pinehurst No. 2, the site of two recent U.S. Opens. The courses are shortened for each age and gender group.
The championship was moved to Pinehurst in 2006 to accommodate the growing number of participants.
“The opportunity to play great courses and a reputation for attracting the world’s best players combine to make the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship the premier tournament for this age group,” said Dan Van Horn, founder and president of U.S. Kids Golf.
Admission is free to the public. For more information visit www.uskidsgolf.com
The World’s Largest Amateur Golf Tourney
When the PGA Tour Superstore WorldAm claims it’s “The World’s Largest Amateur Golf Tournament,” it is not exaggerating. Golfers from 48 states and more than 30 countries are expected to tee it up at this year’s event.
Nearly 55 courses in the area, including seven of the 10 Grand Strand courses recognized in Golf Digest’s 2007-2008 “America’s Top 100 Greatest Public Courses” will host thousands of golfers. More than 70,000 women and men, ranging in age from 14 to 89 years old, have participated in the event since 1984.
Following the rounds each day will be the “World’s Largest 19th Hole” at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center. There will be an extensive golf expo with equipment demonstrations, entertainment, a cocktail buffet and prize drawings. A lucky grand prize winner will walk away with a once-in-a-lifetime trip for two to all four Majors in 2009. The prize includes airfare, accommodations and tickets for each event.
The entry fee of $550 will get you four rounds of golf and four evenings of food, drinks, golf exposition, live entertainment and contests at The 19th Hole. The “TOUR Van Experience” presented by the PGA Tour Superstore will feature a 10,000 square-foot demo and club fitting area, fashion makeovers and game im-provement seminars by Dave Pelz, Jesse Ortiz, Bobby Grace and Joe Inman. For more information visit www.worldamgolf.com.