Category: Blog

Monica Blake – Lessons in Leadership

At First Tee, we guide kids to strengthen what’s inside and put it into action because strong character, inner strength and resilience is needed now more than ever. This month we are talking to leaders within our Network about their experiences and key lessons learned over the course of their careers.

Monica Blake, First Tee – Central Arkansas

What is your current role at First Tee and what is the most rewarding part of your job?

My name is Monica Blake and I am the Executive Director of First Tee-Central Arkansas. The most rewarding part of my job is making a positive impact on the lives of the youth and families we serve in Central Arkansas. As the Executive Director I’m able to serve as the voice of our participants and advocate on their behalf. I am also a certified First Tee coach and I have been intentional about staying involved in the coaching process. I believe that in order to be a successful leader it’s important that I stay connected to our participants and our mission. As the Executive Director, it’s essential to be a good steward of our donors and sponsoring donations and it’s very rewarding to see those contributions directly impact the youth that we serve.

This month we’re celebrating Black History Month and lifting up voices of Black participants, coaches and leaders exploring what it means to be a leader. What does leadership mean to you?

I believe that leadership isn’t about a title or position that you hold, but that it’s about the difference you make in someone’s life. As the leader of First Tee- Central Arkansas it’s important that I’m putting everyone within our organization in a position to not only be  successful, but to facilitate an environment where each participant, coach, and volunteer aspire to be the change they seek in the lives of the youth that we serve.

Did you always know you wanted to be in a leadership role? Can you share a little bit about your journey and how you’ve developed into your current role?

My journey with First Tee began in an entry level role as a volunteer coach in 2012. It was in this role, I realized the value that each position within the organization holds, and how it’s sometimes the person who’s the initial point of contact, that can make the biggest impact on a participant. As I reflect on my growth in the organization, and how my career has progressed, I was extremely fortunate for the opportunity to serve as a volunteer. It was instrumental in laying a foundation of what it means to serve and how to incorporate service into my leadership style. I quickly moved into the role of a paid coach and from there I was promoted to Program Director, where I served for 6 years. Being the Program Director allowed me to connect with the curriculum we were teaching and our mission as an organization and how it impacts each participant. In 2019, I became the first female African-American Executive Director of First Tee-Central Arkansas. I know it was every role that I’ve served, which helped prepare me for this amazing opportunity within this organization and has put me in the greatest position to be successful .

Who were some of the strong voices or mentors in your life that inspired you?

Harold Banks has been a mentor to not only myself, but to countless golfers throughout the Central Arkansas area. Harold was always willing to share his knowledge, skills and expertise with everyone in the golf community. He always had a positive attitude and took a personal interest in mentoring the next generation. Harold was instrumental in advancing black golfers in Little Rock and often his advice extended far beyond the golf course. He was respected by golfers throughout Central Arkansas and left a lasting impact on golfers for generations to come. The impact Harold has made on our community is something that truly inspires and motivates me to become a mentor and leader in the community.

Can you give an example of a challenge you have faced in your career and how have you worked to overcome it?

Having to lead during a pandemic was certainly a challenge and continues to be each day. One important lesson I’ve learned is how to constantly adapt to ever changing  circumstances and continue to modify and adjust as necessary. Flexibility and the power of teamwork are key pillars I have to lean on. Together, as an organization, we were able to navigate through our new circumstances and now we’re in a position to advance our organization even further. We were forced to evaluate our operations through a different lens, and I feel programming has benefited as a result.

How does or can First Tee play a role in bringing more diversity to our game? 

First Tee has the opportunity to play a fundamental role in increasing diversity in golf, especially in Central Arkansas.  The mission of our organization has always been to introduce our programming to underserved communities and now we have the opportunity to lead the charge in bringing diversity and inclusion into the game of golf. This is done by elevating black voices within the community and developing a plan to identify the disconnections and expanding opportunities for minorities. As an organization it is our responsibility to ensure that all participants are having an equitable experience.

What advice do you have for young people entering the job market determined to make a career for themselves?

My advice for young people entering the job market would be to find something that you are passionate about and where you can make a difference. Golf has always played a significant role in my life and as I’ve grown older so has the desire to help people in my community. I’m very fortunate to now serve in a role where I get to blend these two together. It is important to make an impact on the world around you and to help those who are in need.

First Tee Alumni Compete on the APGA Tour

We believe that golf provides a powerful vehicle to help kids build inner strength and life enhancing skills they can take to everything they do. Joseph Dent, Marcellus Dillard and Joey Stills are First Tee alumni using these life lessons as they compete on the APGA Tour, a launching pad for African Americans and minority golfers to compete and make their way to the PGA TOUR. The three alumni shared their experiences through First Tee and how it’s empowered them to develop their character as they pursue their goals.

Our Condolences to the Cline Family

We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Mr. Chris Cline, his daughter Kameron, and their friends.  The Cline Family Foundation has been a long time supporter of The First Tee Greater Charleston. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Cline family and the families of all of those affected.

Participant Spotlight: Fall Program Assessments

This Fall, our chapter had a record number of participants enrolled in Core Golf & Life Skills Programs with a total of 348 young people across 8 locations.  At the end of each season, participants at the PLAYer, Advanced PLAYer, Par, Teen, Birdie, and Eagle levels have the option to take an assessment to see if they are ready to certify to the next progressive program level.  These assessments are completed separately from Core classes and include written golf & life skill tests as well as playing, putting, chipping, and full swing component.  Most important is the coaches’ observation of participants’ understanding of the life skills learned at that level.  At the PLAYer level, coaches are looking to see that participants are respectful of their playing partners and honest in their scoring, while at the Par level, demonstrating the 4Rs (replay, relax, ready, redo) after each shot shows coaches that participants understood what they were taught in class. Over the last month, 89 participants attempted assessments across 5 eligible programming levels.  On average, it takes participants 3-5 full 8-week seasons at a given level to successfully certify to the next one.  We are very proud to share that 49 participants have successfully completed each program component for their current level and will be starting 2019 in a new class!

PLAYer to Advanced PLAYer certified: Emma B, Noah B, Sheppard B, Charlie C, Clayton C, John Robert D, Hunter E, Layne F, Ruby G, Samuel G, Burns H, Aiden K, Andrew K, Gray L, Emily M, Sophia M, Trig N, Cooper P, Thomas R, Ray S, Andrew T, Asa W, and Kyle W

Advanced PLAYer to Par certified: Bailey B, Claire B, Lincoln B, McCrae B, Tripp B, Robert C, Samantha C, Tobias C, Charlie D, Mason J, Aidyn M, Andrew M, Madison M, Gavin P, Jackson S, Lindsey S, Sam S, Inman W, and Olivia W

Par/Teen to Birdie certified: Luke B, Carson D, Ichiwa D, Dalton E, Jacob M, Cade S, and Mark S

Congratulations to all of our Fall Core Golf & Life Skills participants on a fantastic season!  If you would like to read more about The First Tee’s progressive levels, please click here or more about the assessment process, please click here.

Participant Spotlight: Rye Tifft

Congratulations to Rye Tifft on his selection as this month’s Participant of the Month!  Rye has been a member of the Greater Charleston chapter of The First Tee for more than four years, since his family moved to Mount Pleasant from Maine.  Before arriving in Charleston, he was already an accomplished member of The First Tee of Maine at the Birdie level.  Since moving to Charleston, he completed certifications at the Birdie and Eagle level, and is now an Ace participant. Rye is one of our most active participants as he is also a volunteer each season with PLAYer and Advanced PLAYer classes at RiverTowne as well as a member of the Teen Advisory Council. Rye has had some amazing experiences as a junior golfer, including playing in the Beth Daniel Junior Azalea Golf Tournament at the Country Club of Charleston, the St. Augustine Amateur through a First Tee exemption at St. John’s Golf Club in Florida, and helping the United States team defeat Scotland in the inaugural Watson Cup this fall at The Ocean Course on Kiawah Island. One of his most accomplished experiences to date was his selection into the Congaree Global Golf Initiative this summer.  He spent a full week living at Congaree Golf Club, learning about life as a college golfer, perfecting his game, and making friendships and mentorships that will last a lifetime. “From the first moment we entered the gates to Congaree, I knew this was going to be something special. The entrance itself was what I’d image Augusta to be like, trees overhanging and all. Everything was top of the line from our rooms to the food, and, of course, the golf course and practice facility itself. In the first hour of arriving for CGGI, it had already exceeded way beyond my expectations. The overall experience really gave me a boost of confidence in myself, my studies, and my game. Being able to work with experienced and world-renowned teachers like Mike Harmon, Jason Baile, and Bruce Davidson, as well as working with other experts in their field whether it be fitness, medicine, mental game, education, even table manners made me feel equipped for not only college, but the rest of my future whether that be in golf or something else that I enjoy. I really enjoyed meeting everyone who made the Congaree Global Golf Initiative such an incredible experience for all of the junior golfers like me who participated. I felt like I was able to step out of my shell a little and make life long connections with not only the kids that we spent the week with, but the coaches, mentors, and ambassadors that were at CGGI and were there to help us and tell us their story.” Rye says that his favorite core value is perseverance because it helps him not only in golf, but also in his studies.  He will graduate from Oceanside Collegiate Academy Charter School in Mount Pleasant this spring and looks forward to playing golf in college next year.  Keep up the great work, Rye!

Participant Spotlight: Kharynton Beggs at the Pure Insurance Championship

What an incredible week it was for Kharynton Beggs at the Pebble Beach Golf Resort last week!  She was selected earlier this year for the Pure Insurance Championship Impacting The First Tee, a PGA TOUR Champions event where 81 junior participants of The First Tee are paired with PGA TOUR Champions players.  They play a best ball format with rounds at Poppy Hills Golf Course and Pebble Beach Golf Links.  Kharynton, her mom Teia, and Program Director Meghan Taylor flew across the country last Tuesday.  Kharynton played practice rounds at each course on Wednesday and Thursday, and Friday began the tournament round.  Each night also included a special event for juniors to meet one another and mingle with professional golfers and honored guests. Kharynton was paired with fellow South Carolinian, Jay Haas, who has 33 professional victories.  The two played their first round at Poppy Hills on Friday and finished at -4.  Saturday’s round was at Pebble Beach, and after two days, the duo were at -1.  Unfortunately, they did not make the cut, but their played fantastic golf, and The First Tee of Greater Charleston is so proud to have Kharynton as our first ever representative to this national event. Kharynton had this to say about the event: “This experience was absolutely nothing like I possibly could have imagined – it was better!  From the first day I arrived, I felt so confident and ready for the week, seeing familiar faces from other national opportunities through The First Tee like the Life Skills & Leadership Academy and Perfect Sense Challenge as well as adults like Mr. Dennis Kirwin from Pure Insurance and Mr. Matt Ginella from Golf Channel.  I met so many new friends this week and am so grateful to Mr. Jay Haas and his family for their kindness.  Mr. Haas even helped me on the range after the first day at Poppy Hills and taught me a lot.  It was so cool to even take part in special events like the Train concert on Friday night and meet awesome people like Tom Watson and Alfonso Ribeiro!  Thank you to Pure Insurance, PGA TOUR Champions, Pebble Beach Golf Resort, all the sponsors, and each member of the committee who selected me for this opportunity this week.” To see even more photos from Kharynton’s week, please visit our Facebook page (click here) for each of our daily updates.

Participant Spotlight: PGA Jr League

The PGA Jr League is a program where junior golfers have the opportunity to enjoy their first team golf experience.  Playing in a 2-player captain’s choice format, juniors take turns playing with and caddying for their group.  The program encourages sportsmanship, promotes mentorship, and builds confidence. For the last three summers, The First Tee of Greater Charleston has participated as its own team in the Charleston region, competing against teams from area public and private golf courses.  Our team is open to participants at the Advanced PLAYer, Par, and Birdie levels, who are between the ages of 8 and 13.  This summer, we had so much demand for the PGA Jr League that we created two teams who each competed in matches at fantastic courses like the Country Club of Charleston and Kiawah’s River Course.  Participants earned flags for winning their 3-hole matches as well as showing teamwork, respect, and responsibility. Thank you to all of families who sent in photos from this season’s matches and practices!To end the season, PGA Jr League players had the chance to attend a Riverdogs game with their families earlier this month.  All players were even down on the field, high-fiving players before the game! If your child is at the Advanced PLAYer, Par, or Birdie level and interested in joining PGA Jr League, be on the lookout for registration information in the spring of 2019!

Supporter Spotlight: YAC Gives Back

The mission of The First Tee is to instill Nine Core Values like confidence, responsibility, and judgment in young people through our youth development programs.  All of our core values are inherent to the game of golf but are also so important in every aspect of life.  We want to help children succeed on and off the golf course: at home, at school, and in other activities. Last week, we distributed 250 backpacks filled with school supplies to Lowcountry students.  For the last 3 years, we have held our annual SNAG Some Supplies event each August, before school starts, for young people who have taken part in Core Golf & Life Skills Programming that year.  The backpacks and supplies are donated by The First Tee Young Ambassadors Council.  The goal is to give kids the backpacks and school supplies they need to feel confident and persevere through the new school year.  Because of the heavy rainfall and flooding across our area this month, we were unable to play our traditional SNAG baseball game, but we did distribute 50 backpacks to Core participants. However, this year, 50 backpacks wasn’t enough for our Young Ambassadors Council! The Young Ambassadors Council, under the project leadership of Tyson Marlow and Brittain Cherry, set a goal of upping their past donation numbers from 30 backpacks to 200.  When that goal was reached, they increased the goal again and collected enough money to pack 250 backpacks this year.  With 50 of the backpacks going to Core Program participants, we were left with 200 in need of good homes.  Last year, we began partnering with Charleston Promise Neighborhood to provide after school programming at one of their sites, Mary Ford Elementary.  We even transported some of their students to Patriots Point this spring to take part in our PLAYer Core Program this spring.  On Friday night, we took part in Mary Ford Elementary’s Back to School Bash where we handed out all 200 of the backpacks to families with pre-school through fifth grade-age children! We wish all of our participants a successful and fun back to school season!  For our next Participant Spotlight, we would like to share all of your “first day of school” photos, so please email photos of your children to Program Director, Meghan Taylor: [email protected].

Participant Spotlight: Spring 2018 A/B Honor Roll Recipients

This month, we are excited to honor the fifty-four participants who received all As and Bs at their school during the spring 2018 semester and submitted a copy of their report card into The First Tee.  All of these participants will be honored with a certificate and special A/B Honor Roll bag tag mailed to their home.  Congratulations to the following participants for showing perseverance, responsibility, and and confidence on and off the golf course:

Curtis B                            Jack H                              Mason R Allie B                              Laura H                            Alayna R Alaina B                           SarahAnne H                   Matt R Kharynton B                    William H                         Theo R Jacob B                           Bally J                              Ray S Bradyn B                          Emily J                            Jackson S Francisco C                     Avery J                            Sam S Karla C                             Blake J                             Banks S Simon D                          Sarah J                            Jackson S Dominck D                      Sam K                              Cade S Alanna D                         Noah L                             Jackson S Marlie D                          Ryan L                              Erin T Lilian D                            Sam L                              Joseph T David F                            Mackenzie M                  Maddie T Jackie F                           David M                          Caitlin T Cooper H                         Andrew M                       Brady T Headen H                        Bailey Q                          Olivia W Colton H                          Brodie Q                         Lucas Y

Participant Spotlight: SarahAnne Horne

Congratulations to SarahAnne on her selection as Participant of the Month for June 2018!  SarahAnne has been a member of The First Tee for 5 years, since she was 7 years old.  She lives in Mount Pleasant and currently attends Palmetto Christian Academy, where she is on the golf team. SarahAnne takes part in the Core Golf & Life Skills Program at Patriots Point Golf Links with Coach Wayne.  Last month, she successfully certified from the Par level to the Birdie level through our assessment process.  You can click here to read more about The First Tee assessment and certification process.  Her favorite part about group lessons with The First Tee are the “the chipping and putting games, they make learning about golf fun.  Riding the big golf cart together is something I like, too.” (fourth from left, top row) SarahAnne exemplifies each of the Nine Core Values, and her favorite is judgment.  “I have to use my own judgment to make decisions on the golf course.  When I first started, my coach helped choose what clubs I would use, but now I use judgment on what club to use by myself.” (far right, bottom row) She says that she most enjoys golf because, “I like to challenge myself.  Golf is a good sport for that.  Golf also helps me meet new people!”  In addition to her participation in Core Golf & Life Skills Programs through The First Tee, SarahAnne also attends our LPGA-USGA Girls Nights Out at Patriots Point and is also a member of The First Tee’s PGA Junior League team. (second from right, top row) Off the golf course, SarahAnne also enjoys basketball, reading, beach volleyball, and spending time with her dog.  If you see SarahAnne this month, please make sure you also wish her a happy birthday – she turned 13 on May 25th!

Participant Spotlight: Lilian Ducker

Summer registration is now open, and one of the very first participants to register for our summer season was Lilian Ducker.  Lilian has been with The First Tee for almost five years, and she is currently at the Birdie level.  She started the program when her grandfather read about The First Tee in the newspaper.  He enrolled her younger brother, and as soon as she saw him playing, she knew she wanted to try it! She is 13 years old and lives in Moncks Corner.  She is home schooled and in seventh grade.  In addition to playing golf, she enjoys playing guitar, soccer, drawing, singing, reading, and going to see her favorite bands live!  She even hopes to do something with music when she gets older. She is a student of Coach Wayne at Patriots Point Golf Links in Mount Pleasant and says that perseverance is her favorite Core Value.  “There are many times it would be easier to just quit, but making myself keep trying gets me through,” says Lilian.  She has persevered all the way to the Birdie level, many times even being the only girl in her Par or Birdie level class! Lilian also attends all of our LPGA-USGA Girls Golf events at Patriots Point Golf Links, and she loves that at The First Tee she gets “to play golf and meet new people!” Congratulations on your selection as Participant of the Month, Lilian!  If you have a child who would like to enroll in our summer programs, please click here to view the full summer schedule, or if you have a young lady interested in LPGA-USGA Girls Golf events, please click here to submit a free registration.  

Participant Spotlight: Tobias, Robert, and Samantha

Congratulations to Tobias, Robert, and Samantha as their selection of our March Participants of the Month!  The Conover siblings have been members of The First Tee since 2016 and are currently at the Advanced PLAYer level.  All three agree that their favorite core value is sportsmanship because they can use it in golf as well as their other favorite sport, soccer.  When Toby and Robert grow up, they want to be professional soccer players, and Sammy wants to be a baker.  When asked why they like The First Tee, Toby said that it’s great practice for golf tournaments and Sammy loves the Girls Nights Out (that we offer every other month to young ladies registered in co-ed Core Programs). The Conover Family lives in Summerville and started their classes with The First Tee at The Club at Pine Forest.  For the past year, they have been with Coach Meghan and Coach Charlie at Shadowmoss Plantation in West Ashley.  The Conovers were also recipients of our Pick Up Stix Program where participants who reach the Advanced PLAYer level are given sets of golf clubs to use as long as they are respectful with them as members of The First Tee Program! Thank you to the Conover Family for being members of The First Tee program! If you would like to nominate a child for next month’s Participant Spotlight, please email Meghan Taylor!