Pictured, from left, are Kathy Chickarello, Brian Ouse, Noelle Hauck, Bryant McKee, Megan Severn (The ARK) Peg Lahmeyer (The ARK), Theresia Ware, Lisa Diedrick, Jim Chickarello and Tony Jones.

Legend Oaks Gives Back Championships Benefit The ARK

The fifth annual Legend Oaks Gives Back USTA Level 2 Tennis Tournament, benefiting The ARK Alzheimer’s Family Support Services, raised $4,000 to support the Lowcountry community in need. The event was Jan. 29-31 at Legend Oaks Golf and Tennis Club in Summerville. 

The event opened Friday night and ended Sunday afternoon, with the crowning of 14 champions throughout the event. There were 121 players, ranging from beginners to the highest ranking local players and professionals, who came out to make the event a huge success. 

The biggest winner of the event was the The ARK Family Support Services, selected by the members of the Legend Oaks Gives Back Tennis committee, based on votes by the members of Legend Oaks Golf & Tennis Club. Owner Jim Chickarello is thrilled that the event has grown so fast over its five-year history, and that a local Lowcountry community charity will benefit from the funds raised. “It’s great to see so many residents within our community supporting their neighbors in need,” Chickarello said. “Local charities need our support more than ever.” 

Chickarello thanked the Legend Oaks Gives Back Tennis Committee members for their tireless efforts in support of this event: Lisa Diedrick – Co-Chair, Noelle Hauck – Co-Chair, Dawn Blatner, Jeff Nixon, Holly Plyler, Deania Sparling and Carol Wilson. A big thank you also went out to all the generous sponsors in the business community especially major sponsors Heritage Trust Federal Credit Union, Lori & Eric Carlson and Soul Whispers Arts. The event would not have been possible without the support of the many volunteers from within the neighborhood and community and all the participants from across the Lowcountry and South Carolina. 

The Legend Oaks Gives Back initiative was founded in 2008 by Jim Chickarello, owner of Legend Oaks Golf and Tennis Club in Summerville. The club staff joins with club members and the Legend Oaks neighborhood, working together to help those in the immediate community in need. The year-round initiative includes a major fall fundraiser with tennis tournament, golf tournament and dinner with silent auction, a 5K run on the back nine, a used golf club drive, a back to school supplies drive and a Christmas toy drive, in addition to this annual USTA Level 2 Tennis Tournament.  

Past donations have benefited The Alzheimer’s Association, Dorchester Children’s Center, Meals on Wheels of Summerville, MUSC Hollings Cancer Center, MUSC children’s Hospital, One80 Place (formerly The Palmetto House) and The South Carolina Junior Golf Association. The Legend Oaks Gives Back initiative, operating with the motto “A Community Working Together, to Help Those in Need” has raised over $277,000 in cash donations and goods since its inception in 2008. 

The eighth annual Legend Oaks Gives Back Charity Weekend will be Sept. 9-11. Also, Legend Oaks Gives Back will host a used tennis racquet drive benefiting the Professional Tennis Registry Foundation’s program “Racquet Round-Up.” Through April 30, drop off used racquets at Legend Oaks Golf and Tennis Club, 118 Legend Oaks Way, Summerville.