#MYRsports: Tony Dorsett Celebrity Golf Classic on May 19

photo by flickr user Life Supercharger

The 6th Annual Tony Dorsett Celebrity Golf Classic will be held on Saturday, May 19, 2012 at the True Blue Golf Plantation in Pawleys Island.  The money raised will help support children's programs in South Carolina.

Former Dallas Cowboy Hall-of-Famer, Tony Dorsett has set his sights on helping troubled South Carolina kids get an opportunity to become responsible and productive citizens within their local communities.  Money raised from the event will help with a new 32-acre AMIkids residential facility in Georgetown that will assist boys and girls in changing their lives.

The cost is $1,000 per player and each four-person team will be paired with a celebrity. The tournament format will be best ball without handicaps. Some of the celebrities expected to participate, in addition to Dorsett, are former NFL running back George Rodgers, former astronaut Charles Duke, Coastal Carolina University basketball coach Cliff Ellis and past PGA of America president Gary Schaal. For more information or to register for the charity golf event, call (843) 237-2094.

“I know how important it is to have the support of a team and that is the kind of outstanding support AMIkids is offering to thousands of kids each year,” said Dorsett, who retired from the NFL in 1988 following a 12-year career. “They are dedicated to helping these young men and women change the direction of their lives and I am proud to support their efforts.”

Founded in 1969, AMIkids, Inc., is a nationally recognized not-for-profit organization that helps more than 7,500 troubled kids each year build a better future through positive and motivating programs that inspire learning, leadership and personal growth.  Currently, there are about 50 boys ages 14 to 18 housed at the Georgetown facility, which was opened in 1989 as the Georgetown Marine Institute and renamed AMIkids Georgetown in 2009. The new facility will include separate housing for boys and girls.

“We are truly saving lives,” said co-chair Wally Johnson, a former brigadier general and owner of a successful defense contracting business he started at age 56. “I am a child of the inner-city projects so I know what someone can accomplish coming out of that background. But I've always been taught that success is not complete unless you share it with others.” Johnson shares his chairmanship with “Doc” Lachicotte and Dick Rosen.

The tournament will begin with an auction and parings party on Friday night, May 18, at which several local AMIkids students will share their heartfelt stories.