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 | | Relive the 2024 Valero Texas Open | |
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| | Honoring The 2024 Volunteer of the Year | |
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This past Saturday evening on June 1, the Valero Texas Open showed its appreciation for the volunteer Tournament Leadership Council (TLC) at its annual Appreciation Banquet. An important part of the ceremony included the presentation to this year's "Tom Mabe Volunteer of the Year Award" recipient, Chuck Rosales.
Rosales, a member of the Walking Scorers committee, embodies the characteristics of dedication and commitment, passion for the game of golf, and giving of his time and energy annually. He performs very important tasks for the Walking Scorers committee and is trusted with highly critical responsibility without seeking recognition or attention which is a testament to his selflessness, character, charity, quiet leadership, and passion for the game of golf. He has been a dedicated Valero Texas Open volunteer for an impressive 38 years.
“The past 38 years have seemed to go by so quickly and kept me coming back as a volunteer, not only because I truly enjoy volunteering for this event, but additionally because of all the great people that have worked on the Tournament Leadership Council and all the co-volunteers I have had the pleasure of working with over the years” said Rosales upon being presented the award.
Tom Mabe, the award's namesake, was a longtime Valero Texas Open volunteer who worked with players, fans, caddies and tournament officials for decades as a proud member of the TLC. An American hero, retired from the US Army after being stationed in Germany and fighting in Korea and Vietnam, Mabe sadly lost his battle with cancer during tournament week of 2014.
To celebrate Mabe's memory and his vast contributions to the Valero Texas Open over the span of 30 years, the Tournament Staff, along with the TLC, established in 2015 the "Tom Mabe Volunteer of the Year Award."
As Volunteer of the Year, Rosales was awarded with a Valero Texas Open gift package including a two-night stay and spa package at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa, complimentary volunteer registration and premium parking for next year's tournament. In addition, a charitable donation of $1,000 was made in Rosales's honor to a charity close to his heart, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals® (ASPCA).
In addition, Rosales will receive a replica of the Valero Texas Open tournament trophy; a symbol of appreciation for his significant impact on the Tournament. The Tom Mabe Volunteer of the Year Award perpetual trophy now includes Rosales's name and will be proudly displayed year-round in the Valero Texas Open offices as a reminder of the importance of Volunteers to the success of the tournament. In addition, the perpetual trophy will be exhibited in the Volunteer Headquarters at the annual Valero Texas Open.
Each Tournament Leadership Council committee designated a volunteer of the year from their respective team that was then nominated for the Tom Mabe Volunteer of the Year. All Committee Volunteer of the Year nominees attended the annual TLC Banquet, where the winner was then announced. After much review and deliberation of the nominees, Rosales was announced as the ninth recipient of the "Tom Mabe Volunteer of the Year Award." Greg Brueland was the inaugural "Tom Mabe Volunteer of the Year Award" recipient in 2015 followed by Gerry Hagar (2016), Lisa Leong (2017), Barbara Zakrison (2018), Jenny Fischer (2019), Mike Murray (2021), Sherry King (2022), and Greg Klemm (2023).
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| | $17.7M Distributed Through Champions fore Charity | |
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Champions fore Charity fundraising program hosted its annual Celebration of Champions on Wednesday, May 29 at Valero headquarters. Nearly 300 representatives from charities, schools, and program sponsors -- from San Antonio, Austin, Friendswood, and Corpus Christi attended the luncheon as funds raised through the seven month-long Champions fore Charity campaign were distributed to the 162 participating agencies. Based on the generous support from donors, $16.74M was contributed with a collection of 99.99% of the total fundraising commitments.
The Champions fore Charity campaign is a charitable initiative organized and supported by the Valero Texas Open, providing 215 charity organizations throughout the greater San Antonio community and beyond with a fun and unique fundraising platform. The charities also received several financial incentives like the 7% Matching Gift, which totaled $976,055 cumulatively.
Seymour Battle, Senior Vice President of Communications, PR & Engagement for Valero helped celebrate and congratulate the hard work, dedication and passion that the charity representatives put forth to better the community through the various services they provide on a daily basis.
Champions fore Charity Ambassadors, Randy Carroll (KJ 97 radio host) and Sarah Forgany (KENS news anchor) helped to announce the record-breaking total of over $17.7M distributed to charities from the 2023-2024 fundraising program - a part of the $24M announced from this year's Valero Texas Open for charity.
During the remarks, several of the program incentive winners were announced and recognized including:
| Guess the Champion Contest |
Donors from Champions fore Charity had the opportunity to guess at who would be the 2024 champion through the "Guess the Champion Contest". Only one donor correctly guessed this year's champion, Akshay Bhatia, for a chance to win a Stay & Play Package provided by TPC San Antonio and the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa.
The winner for the Stay & Play Package was drawn and unfortunately could not attend the Celebration of Champions. However, the charity the donor supported was PGA Reach Southern Texas which received an incentive bonus of $5,000! Interestingly enough, the winner, Thomas Hutton, is the Executive Director for Southern Texas PGA and helps to manage their fundraising campaign.
| Drawing fore More Awareness |
During the fundraising campaign the Drawing fore More Awareness offered a fun way to keep participating charities and schools engaged and motivated. Throughout the seven-month campaign, charities were entered into a drawing for every $500 worth of pledges they received for a chance to win $2,500. Six (6) lucky charities earned a cumulative total of $15,000 from the Valero Texas Open tournament proceeds.
The drawings took place with the help of program ambassadors, Randy Carroll, Sarah Forgany, and David Chancellor as they each alternated for each contest to randomly draw a qualified charity.
 | Admiral Nimitz Foundation | |
| Alamo Heights School Foundation | |
| Alpha Home | |
| Children's Rehabilitation Institute Teleton USA | |
| Family Service | |
| Hemisfair Conservancy | |
| Final Top 10 Charitable Leaderboard |
| 1 | New Braunfels Food Bank | $515,202.96 |
| 2 | Arms of Hope | $511,734.37 |
| 3 | Soldiers’ Angels | $429,246.00 |
| 4 | Family Service | $387,000.00 |
| 5 | Hemisfair Conservancy | $385,000.00 |
| 6 | The Ecumenical Center | $383,100.00 |
| 7 | First Tee - Greater San Antonio | $382,445.47 |
| 8 | Disabled Outdoorsmen USA, Inc. | $365,000.00 |
| 9 | Children's Rehabilitation Institute TeletonUSA | $360,000.00 |
| 10 | Alpha Home | $350,000.00 |
Truly donors are champions fore supporting charities. Charities are champions fore supporting our community!
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| | Champions fore Charity Corporate Partners | |
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Champions fore Charity, thanks to its corporate supporters, is able to deliver 100% of all funds contributed to participating organizations. Please visit www.ValeroTexasOpen.com to learn more about the Valero Texas Open and its Champions fore Charity program. The 2024-2025 campaign season will kick-off in the fall.
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