Vinny Grants Awarded to Tennessee Junior Golf Programs

             
FRANKLIN, Tenn.—For the 13 th consecutive year, Vince Gill's "The Vinny" Pro-Celebrity-Junior Invitational Golf Tournament has awarded grants to junior golf organizations across Tennessee to support their local missions. $83,000 in grants were issued to 18 different junior golf organizations across Tennessee from 2005 tournament proceeds.
 
"The Vinny" is Vince Gill's Pro-Celebrity-Junior invitational tournament and was established in 1993 to generate funds for the development and growth of junior golf programs across the state of Tennessee. "The Vinny" has generated over $3.3 million in its 13-year history with over $1.2 million awarded to programs across the state. Each year The Tennessee Golf Foundation issues these grants to deserving junior golf organizations and contributes to an endowment fund to protect and preserve these life-enhancing programs for future generations.
 
Grant requests go through a formal approval process that considers applications from organizations that:
•          Support programs that introduce young people to golf, with special consideration given to those programs involving minorities, females and in rural communities.
•          Improve accessibility of golf courses and including golf in school curricula and athletic programs.
•          Support programs that offer golf to physically and mentally challenged individuals.
•          Foster educational and employment opportunities for disadvantaged youth, physically challenged, racial minorities and females through golf programs designed to develop human resources.
 
In addition to the various programs at Golf House Tennessee and The Little Course at Conner Lane that receive support, these junior golf programs received grants from "The Vinny" in 2006:
Bear Trace at Ross Creek Schools Program (Clifton)
Bradley County Junior Golf (Cleveland)
Boys and Girls Clubs of Smoky Mountains (New Market)
Billy Daniels Junior Golf Program (Clarksville)
Christian Golf Ministries (Nashville)
Fort Campbell Junior Golf Association (Clarksville)
Girls Golf Club of Reelfoot Council (Jackson)
Hub City Junior Golf Association (Jackson)
Ironwood Junior Girls Clinic (Cookeville)
Paris Junior Golf and Life Skills (Paris)
Tennessee Middle School Golf Association
The First Tee of Chattanooga
The First Tee of Knoxville
The First Tee of Memphis
The First Tee of Nashville
The First Tee of Williams Creek (Knoxville)
Tri Cities Chapter PGA - SNAG Golf in Schools (Kingsport)
Signal Mountain Country Club Golf in Schools Program (Chattanooga)
Special Olympics Tennessee Golf Program (statewide)
Young Masters Junior Golf Program/Northwest Family YMCA (Nashville)
 
The 14th Annual "The Vinny" will be played July 10-11, 2006 at The Golf Club of Tennessee in Kingston Springs, Tennessee. Log onto www.golfhousetennessee.com for tournament information.