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Looking Back on the First Tee Leadership Summit

This August, we held our first ever First Tee Leadership Summit in the unforgettable backdrop of West Creek Ranch in Montana. This event took place for two weeks, bringing together 20 teens each week from across the country to develop leadership skills through dynamic outdoor and team-building activities. Through collaborative workshops, First Tee’s core competencies of building character, self-confidence and resilience played a huge part of the experience, to explore the concepts of relationship building, positive risk taking, and character evaluation. We recently caught up with participant Benjamin Parris from First Tee – Denver to hear how this year’s event impacted him.

Benjamin Parris, First Tee – Denver

In Denver, I often hear the amazing experiences fellow participants have when they return from First Tee national events. Until the first week of August 2021, I had never experienced one for myself and I was not quite sure what to expect when I was selected for The First Tee Leadership Summit in Partnership with the PGA TOUR Superstore at Mr. Arthur M. Blank’s West Creek Ranch in Montana. As soon as I arrived at the airport, I knew it would be a special week as I was immediately greeted by fellow participants and alumni chaperones. When we arrived at West Creek, even more participants were eager to greet us and introduce themselves. I knew I had formed relationships almost immediately, and those only got better as the week went on. At the summit, we got to participate in activities such as horseback riding, archery, white water rafting, and other spectacular outdoor experiences. Also, during our days, we had the opportunities to listen to guest speakers like Dick Sullivan (CEO of the PGA TOUR Superstore), Ralph Stokes (the PGA TOUR Superstore’s Director of Partnership Marketing and former University of Alabama running back), Joe Shepard (a PGA TOUR Superstore Regional Manager), Stacie Monks (a PGA TOUR Superstore District Manager), and our keynote speaker Michael Vick (former NFL quarterback). We learned lessons in values, teamwork, skill sets, representation, and more. Each day at the summit had a different theme. Our themes were: “relationships are the foundation for leadership,” “positive risk taking,” and “my character is me.” While our speakers were able to give us insightful words and stories on these themes, we learned just as much from our outdoor experiences as we did from our speakers. On Tuesday, we focused on relationships and how trust is the foundation of every successful relationship. After hearing from Dick Sullivan and Michael Vick, six participants, including myself, departed for the ropes course while everyone else elected to horseback ride. When we arrived, we immediately had to build a relationship as we picked partners to ascend on a partner climb up a 30-foot wooden ladder. My partner Sam Gibbs from the First Tee of Fort Worth deserves a quick shoutout for putting her trust in me all week from the second we became partners at the ropes course. On Wednesday, we worked on taking positive risks. My first risk of the day was waking up at 6:30 after a late night to go on a sunrise hike. Let me tell you, the views in Montana were spectacular, it was very much worth the risk of not sleeping in. Later that day I took another risk by going on a 3-hour horseback excursion, by far the longest I had ever been near another animal, besides my dog at home. My biggest takeaway from learning about positive risks were to approach people who think differently than you so you can challenge your own thinking and to seek out your own mentorships. On Thursday, our final full day at the summit, we did a lot of self-reflection while thinking about how to own our characters. Stacie Monks began the day after another gorgeous sunrise hike. She posed the following question to all the participants. “What type of leader do you want to be?” She went onto discuss how to create a culture when you are leading others and how to empower them. Later that morning we had perhaps the hardest task of the entire summit, but also to me the most impactful. We were asked to complete this phrase. “This is what I believe about myself as a leader…” This wasn’t a simple sentence to complete, and to really answer the question, it required more than just a few sentences. To complete the thought, I had to reflect upon all the things I had been through that week at West Creek. I had to think about climbing with a partner, taking leaps of faith, the inspiration I had received from our speakers and workshops, and what I had learned from all the people around me. Later that evening, we sat around the fire pit as we listened and shared all 18 of us has discovered about ourselves as leaders. My favorite part of the leadership summit was the comradery all of the participants formed. I got the opportunity to make 17 new friends, who over the course of the week felt like family. I know that I’ll be keeping in touch with them for years and years to come and can’t wait until I can see them again. For me, the week made me feel like a true member of the greater First Tee family. I had never met a fellow participant from outside of Colorado, but now I feel like I’m connected to the First Tee everywhere I go. I can’t wait to stay involved with the program as I go to college and beyond. I want to thank the First Tee, PGA TOUR Superstore and West Creek Ranch staff one final time for giving me what was truly a life changing experience. The programming was phenomenal, and the experiences were irreplicable. I came back home truly knowing what type of leader I am and how I can continue to grow as a leader. I can’t wait to apply what I learned in Montana to our local programs in Denver as well as other extracurriculars I participate in. I feel honored that I was a part of the inaugural summit.

The First Tee of Greater Sacramento’s Sacramento Golf Hall of Fame Inducts Six Members

  Sacramento, CA April 24, 2018 – The First Tee of Greater Sacramento will induct six member into the Sacramento Golf Hall of Fame on Saturday, April 28th at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex.  This year’s inductees are Pat McGowan, Vince Mastracco, Don Haney, Bill Rider, Don Baucom & Jim Salazar. The First Tee of Greater Sacramento Golf Hall of Fame recognizes those individuals that have had an everlasting impact on the landscape of golf in and around Sacramento. Tour players, club professionals, media personnel, great amateur players and volunteers make up this unique list. Former inductees include Ken Morton Sr., Bob Eastwood, Al Geiberger, Scott McCarron, Kevin Sutherland, Natalie Gulbis and over two dozen more. Pat McGowan joined the PGA Tour in 1978 and was Rookie of the Year. He won the 1984 TPS Sacramento Open. Other top finishes include: Second in the Canadian Open, second in the Quad Cities Open, fourth in the PGA Championship. Pat attended Brigham Young University and is an active supporter of junior golf. Pat qualified to play on the Champion’s Tour beginning in the 2005 season. Became the Director of Instruction at the Pine Needles Golf Resort upon retirement from the PGA Tour.   Jim Salazar is the longtime head golf professional at Roseville’s Sierra View Country Club, PGA Quarter Century Club Member Jim Salazar has influenced the golf games of thousands of members and junior golfers over his career. Nearly three decades at Roseville’s most-tenured course, Salazar followed in the steps of another illustrious golf professional, founder of Sierra View CC and original head golf professional, Bill Brooks- marking a remarkable number of just two Head Professionals in the club’s history. Don Baucom’s long illustrious career as one of Sacramento’s most respected golf instructors might be highlighted by his work with fellow Sacramento Hall of Fame member and longtime PGA Tour and Champions Tour player, Kevin Sutherland, but his handprints have been all over the swings of some of Sacramento’s best players for the better part of four decades.   Bill Rider has committed decades of his life to the passion of running, assisting and scoring amateur golf in Greater Sacramento. His committee work on events such as the California State Fair Golf Championship and hundreds of different junior events through the First Tee of Greater Sacramento has been a privilege for those that he’s come into contact with- he’s an unsung hero of anyone who has played amateur golf in the region. In honor of his outstanding dedication, The First Tee of Greater Sacramento annually awards the “Bill Rider Volunteer of The Year Award.” Don Haney earned his BS from California State University-Sacramento, his MBA from the University of California at Berkeley and spent decades as a CPA here in the Greater Sacramento region. His vision for helping start & spending countless hours as providing accounting services to both SAY Golf and its subsequent evolvement into the First Tee of Greater Sacramento cannot be overstated.   Vince Mastracco hosted Sacramento’s longest running radio golf show in Golf Talk. Member Golf Writers of America Assoc., California Golf Writers & Broadcasters Assoc. Won International Network of Golf (ING) awards in 2002, 2005, 2006, 2010. Named by Sacramento Bee as one of 25 most influential people in area golf. California Golf Writers & Broadcasters Outstanding Journalist award 2005. NorCal PGA Section Media Person of the Year in 1999. About The First Tee of Greater Sacramento: The First Tee of Greater Sacramento has positively impacted the young people in our area since 1983. The First Tee of Greater Sacramento runs youth development programs throughout the year, reaching over 51,000 young people ages 3-18 annually, including 49,00 that participate free of charge. The First Tee of Greater Sacramento uses golf as a vehicle to teach core values, life skills and healthy habits to young people and help give them the skills they need to flourish in their lives today and in the future. Contacts for additional information Sacramento Golf Hall of Fame Website- www.sacramentogolfhalloffame.com Tonya Goins, Director of Marketing & Community Relations [email protected] (916) 808-0959