PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- An opening ceremony will mark the official start of the 20th PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship, May 4, at 5 p.m. EST, at the PGA Historical Center lawn in Port St. Lucie, Fla. The ceremony will feature an outdoor procession of an increased field of approximately 140 of the top student-athletes and coaches from 30 colleges and universities. The PGA of America's Chief Executive Officer, Joe Steranka, will be on hand to welcome the participants.
The McCarty Middle School Band of Fort Pierce, Fla., under the direction of Mr. Jim LeBon, and the Avenue "D" Boys Choir of Port St. Lucie, Fla., under the direction of Mrs. Mary Hendricks, will each provide musical selections at the Opening Ceremony.
During the opening ceremony, Bobby Wilkinson Jr., Manager of National Sponsorship Marketing for State Farm Insurance Companies, will award the National Minority College Golf Scholarship Fund grants totaling $10,000 to 10 student-athletes whose universities are partaking in this year's Championship. The scholarship money will then be donated to the respective universities in the name of the scholarship recipient. The 10 scholarship recipients will be announced at the Opening Ceremony.
Following the opening ceremony festivities, student-athletes in the Championship will be granted the opportunity to learn more about employment possibilities within the golf industry from some of the finest golf organizations during the 12th annual Career Fair, which has doubled in size this year. Employees from Acushnet, American Junior Golf Association, Course Managers Association of America, Executive Women's Golf Association, Futures Tour, Golf Course Superintendent's Association of America, Golf Digest, LPGA, National Minority College Golf Scholarship Fund, National Minority Golf Foundation, National Golf Course Owners Association of America, Nicklaus Companies, The PGA of America, the PGA TOUR, State Farm Insurance, the First Tee, Troon Management Corporation, and the United States Golf Association will be available to offer guidance and to accept the résumés of those interested in internships and jobs after graduation.
"The Career Fair offers the student-athletes excellent opportunities to explore the possibilities that are available to them in the golf industry," said Steranka. "The Career Fair is a vital part to the Association's strategy to bring more people of color into the business of golf."
Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship will be conducted May 5-7, at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, The PGA of America's first owned and operated state-of-the-art public golf facility. It marks the ninth consecutive year that PGA Golf Club has hosted the national Championship, which is fully managed and operated by The PGA of America for the first year in the Championship's history. State Farm Insurance and The Golf Channel have combined to produce a one-hour Championship highlight program, which will air on July 6, at 6 p.m. EST.
Celebrating its 90th anniversary, The PGA of America was founded in 1916, and is a not-for-profit organization that promotes the game of golf, while continuing to enhance the standards of the profession. The Association is comprised of more than 28,000 men and women PGA Professionals who are dedicated to growing participation in the game of golf.
