(from left to right) General Orr, Dan Kehl, Jim Dickerson, Kirt Sickels, Colonel Rickert

RIVERSIDE, Iowa –On Tuesday, April 27th members of the G.I.V.E. Foundation received the Commander’s Award for Public Service from General Orr of the Iowa National Guard. The Commander’s Award for Public Service is the fourth highest honor the United State Department of the Army can bestow upon a civilian.
Kirt Sickels, Director of National Special Events for the VA, Jim Dickerson, Director of Instruction for the G.I.V.E. program and PGA Professional, and Dan Kehl, CEO of Riverside Casino and Golf Resort were presented the civilian awards.
The G.I.V.E. Foundation began in 2007 and has achieved national recognition by The PGA of America and the Veterans Administration for its blend of PGA Professional-led golf curriculum and accompanying life lesson support to enhance the mental, social, physical and emotional well-being of veterans.
The GIVE program is a partnership between the Iowa PGA, the Iowa VA Medical Center and Riverside Casino & Golf Resort. The partnership was brought together by Louis King of Cedar Rapids, president of the GIVE Foundation, a Veteran and former Executive Director of the PGA of America.
“The men and women who serve our country are the true American Heroes. We are proud and humbled at the same time for this recognition and award bestowed upon our organization by the Iowa National Guard. We look forward to assisting many more veterans and their families through this program.” stated Dan Kehl.
For more information about the GIVE Foundation and contact the Iowa PGA Section headquarters 319-648-0026 or e-mail iowa@pgahq.com. The GIVE Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) non-for-profit organization, with all donations tax-deductible.

Since the end of World War I, the “war to end all wars,” Americans have evolved in the manner by which they pay tribute to those men and women who served and paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Ninety years ago today, when “Armistice Day” was first set aside as a solemn day of remembrance, speeches and parades and ceremonies marked the time.

There is a group of Eastern Iowans who have made Veterans Day their daily routine, their passion. They formed a team chemistry that blends Iowa PGA Professionals, a generous host site in the Riverside Casino & Golf Resort and the Iowa VA Medical Center of Iowa City.

The trio has become a winning partnership, a model for the country in how to use the game of golf to restore mental health and add more than a ray of happiness to troubled veterans and their families.

Since the fall of 2007, Iowa PGA Professionals have worked with 190 veterans who had served from World War II through the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Golf for Injured Veterans Everywhere (GIVE) program has performed and has branded itself by providing hope, enjoyment in a game and for many a new chapter in life.

“The GIVE program emulates what good can come from partnerships between government, communities, and businesses in serving our veterans,” says Iowa VA Medical Center Director Barry Sharp. “The GIVE program changes lives, bringing families together in a social setting, and teaches them a sport that all members of the family can enjoy. The GIVE program model will work in any community in the United States if you have the right partnerships.

“While the acronym GIVE stands for Golf for Injured Veterans Everywhere, it is the strength of the partnership that is doing the giving, and as everyone who has supported this program has discovered – when you give you get far more in return. The GIVE program is an excellent way for communities to give back to our veterans for the sacrifices they and their families have made for the United States of America.”

The GIVE model involves participating veterans receiving the best in PGA golf instruction, donated golf equipment and free access to the practice facility and the nearby Blue Top Ridge at Riverside championship layout.

And, there is not one penny being charged to the Iowa taxpayer.

The GIVE program was the idea of Lou King of Cedar Rapids, a former PGA executive director and former senior vice president for Amana Refrigeration. The concept was embraced by Riverside Casino & Golf Resort’s brother combination of CEO Dan Kehl and Executive Director of Golf, Bobby Kehl, who have contributed to make GIVE grow.

“The veterans, many of them joined by family members, come here, go through the classes and leave as your friend,” says Bobby Kehl. “I can’t think of a better feeling inside for me than that.”

Dan Kehl said that he has added respect for the GIVE participants.

“I can’t walk away without feeling humbled by those who have done so much for our country,” says Kehl. “If it wasn’t for the veterans carrying the water for us, I may have been serving over there.”

The Iowa VA Medical Center teamed by screening applicants for the program, which has yielded dividends and a new set of success stories in the heartland.

“This program eased the burden for me of returning home,” says Julie Gorman of Cedar Rapids, a retired Sgt. E-7 after 22 years in the Army, who had returned from Iraq with a severe foot injury requiring two surgeries. She also was suffering from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). Today, Gorman, a longtime employee at Crescent Electric in Cedar Rapids, has been one of GIVE’s biggest advocates.

“At first, I did not want to be with any other veterans,” she says. “Now, I have found it helps me to be there to help others. It keeps me coming back. I think that the commitment those PGA Professionals and the resort has made is just wonderful.

Gorman says her personal recovery progress, aided by the VA Medical Center and GIVE, was underscored in her ability to say farewell to friends heading to service recently in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“A couple years ago, I would not have been able to do that,” says Gorman. “Now I feel differently about it. I have stood up to my demons and put it behind me.”

The success stories include Joe Corso of West Liberty, who served three tours of duty in Vietnam and did not leave his home for some two years. He also has contracted leukemia, yet has found himself.

“This program got me closer to my wife,” says Corso. “The pros I’ve met are not going through the motions. They look you in the eye; they care about you. I’ve built more trust. I feel born again.”

Vietnam veteran Larry Phillips of Anita, Iowa, 66, lives some 65 miles west of Des Moines, where there isn’t a GIVE program. So, he and his wife, Mary Lou, also a veteran, have driven three hours one way to Riverside three separate occasions to participate in the GIVE curriculum.

“We were met with open arms and I can’t tell you how that makes me feel,” says Phillips, who became a paraplegic in 1968, a year after his discharge from the Army.

“They found me a solo rider golf cart, where I could hit the ball from a side seat. I was a couple over par for the four holes I played. The PGA Professionals wanted to be there with us. They weren’t looking at their wristwatches. You know you face a three-hour trip, but there is something there that really leaves you feeling that you didn’t begrudge the long drive.”

Dr. Michael J. Hall, a neuropyschologist with the Iowa VA Medical Center, has been a keen observer of the GIVE success stories through his own patients.

“One of my concerns is that people say that this is just golf,” says Dr. Hall. “It is not just golf, it is more than golf. Golf is a venue again to create a positive environment, positive experiences. We have something good here, but essentially what we need to do is replicate what works and to not do what doesn’t work. This is something that works.”

By late today, the speeches, ceremonies, tributes and some TV documentaries honoring those who have fought for peace will conclude.

Yet there are those in Eastern Iowa whose counsel, friendship and a spirit of hope burns well past the 11th hour on the 11th day of November.

GIVE.

It is more than a charitable brand; it is what is right.

Bob Denney, formerly of Cedar Rapids, is the Senior Association Writer for The PGA of America

NATIONALLY-RECOGNIZED GOLF FOR INJURED VETERANS EVERYWHERE
PROGRAM TO HOST FIRST GIVE SCRAMBLE AT BLUE TOP RIDGE, OCT. 11

RIVERSIDE, Iowa – The GIVE Foundation, which achieved national recognition for its teamwork in bringing together injured veterans, their families and PGA Professionals, will host the first GIVE Scramble at Blue Top Ridge, Sunday, Oct. 11.

The tournament, presented by The Riverside Casino & Golf Resort, will have honorary chairpersons in Champions Tour standout Lonnie Nielsen and his wife, Mary Jo, each natives of Belle Plaine, Iowa.

Earlier this season, Nielsen became the first tour professional to serve as a lead contributor to the GIVE (Golf for Injured Veterans Everywhere) Foundation. Nielsen, 55, a 1976 graduate of the University of Iowa, heads the 2009 “Birdies for Heroes Challenge,” in which he donates $50 for each birdie and $500 for each eagle that he records to the GIVE Foundation. Nielsen’s initiative also received support for the GIVE Foundation from past major champions Larry Nelson and Jerry Pate.

The GIVE Scramble at Blue Top Ridge will feature 28 four-player teams composed of an Iowa PGA Section professional or apprentice along with three veterans who are being treated at the Iowa VA Medical Center in Iowa City, and whom have participated in GIVE program classes. The 18-hole, best-shot event is believed to the first team event of its kind in the country involving wounded veterans.

“What our veterans have given in sacrifice to ensure the freedoms of this country is immeasurable,” said Iowa PGA Section President Steve Hutton. “The GIVE program has been a wonderful sharing experience for our PGA Professionals with both veterans and their families. We are proud to be joining in this first GIVE Scramble at Blue Top Ridge and so pleased to have the support of Tour professional Lonnie Nielsen and his wife, who have set the bar high for supporting veterans everywhere.”

The GIVE Foundation achieved national recognition by The PGA of America and the Veterans Administration for its unique curriculum that blends PGA Professional-led golf instruction and accompanying life lesson support to enhance the mental, social, physical and emotional well-being of veterans.

Nielsen is a member of a GIVE Foundation Advisory Board that includes former Masters Champion Bob Goalby, Champions Tour star Jay Haas; along with former Iowa Governor Robert Ray, former University of Iowa football coach Hayden Fry, former Iowa basketball coach Tom Davis, Iowa wrestling legend Dan Gable; and former Iowa State University basketball coach Johnny Orr.

“It has been a great experience for both me and Mary Jo to support the men and women of our military – patriots who have sacrificed so much for our country,” said Nielsen, a member of the Champions Tour since 2003 and who competed from 1978-83 on the PGA TOUR. “We are excited about the future of the GIVE program and we believe the first GIVE Scramble will be tremendous experience for all participants.

“The veterans competing in this event represent thousands around the country who have found value in the game of golf beyond its recreational and physical attributes. The game has actually played a role in rehabilitating the lives of those same veterans and in many cases restored families.”

The GIVE program is a partnership between the Iowa PGA Professional, the Iowa VA Medical Center and the Riverside Casino & Golf Resort.

Since its founding in 2007, the GIVE program has received more than 400 applications for new students to receive PGA instruction. Louis King of Cedar Rapids, president of the GIVE Foundation, said that the GIVE Scramble at Blue Top Ridge is an effort to provide new golf experiences for veterans.

“We are extremely honored and proud that Lonnie and Mary Jo Nielsen have given their support to this new event, recognizing that it is more than a single veteran who gains from the GIVE experience,” said King. “Lonnie unselfishly led the initiative on Tour to help our veterans and we believe this event – hosted by a great partner in Blue Top Ridge at Riverside and featuring Iowa PGA Professionals – may be the catalyst for future support and new playing opportunities.”

For more information about the GIVE Foundation and the GIVE Scramble at Blue Top Ridge, contact the Iowa PGA Section headquarters 319-648-0026, or e-mail tchristensen@pgahq.com.

The GIVE Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) non-for-profit organization, with all donations tax-deductible.

RIVERSIDE, Iowa

Nielsen, 55, a native of Belle Plaine, Iowa, and a 1976 graduate of the University of Iowa, will spend the 2009 Champions Tour season heading a “Birdies for Heroes Challenge,” where he will donate $50 for each birdie and $500 for each eagle that he records to the GIVE Foundation.

In addition, Nielsen will donate $2,500 in the event of his posting a hole-in-one this season. Nielsen has made 16 aces in his professional career.

Nielsen begins the 2009 Champions Tour season after finishing 11^th among the top 30 money-winners in the 2008 season, earning more than $1.2 million with nine top-10 finishes. Nielsen was the winner of the Champions Tour’s 2007 Commerce Bank Championship.

The GIVE Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) non-for-profit organization, with all donations tax-deductible.

The first 2 classes in the fall of 2007 and the spring of 2008 started with a fund raiser golf tournament in August, had the first couple sessions outdoors, and then moved mostly indoors into the Event Center of the Riverside Casino & Golf Resort. Indoor hitting nets were put up weekly as the schedule for the Event Center allowed. Approximately 27 PGA professionals from the Iowa Section of the PGA came in from around the state to offer their expertise in golf instruction to the 35 plus veterans participating. They gave the vets one on one swing instruction, orientation to the Rules of Golf & Etiquette, and provided video analysis of their swings. The sessions also gave the veterans an opportunity to gather and socialize with other veterans.

The veterans have a range of abilities/disabilities including blindness, amputees w/prosthetics, paraplegics, post traumatic stress disorders (PTSD), traumatic brain injuries (TBI), all of which have to be dealt with individually. Adapted fundamentals in the golf swing, individual socialization, and camaraderie are the order of the day in every session.

During the whole time, the Hy-Vee grocery store chain in eastern Iowa has been the collection point for donated clubs and bags that have been redistributed to the veterans who didn’t have any clubs or to those who needed better equipment. To date 18 full sets of clubs and numerous individual clubs from putters to drivers have been fitted and handed out, at no cost to any veteran.

The foundation also sensed a need for a dedicated instructor and program administrator early on. Jim Dickerson, PGA professional and Cornell College golf coach, was hired, part time, to administer and provide continuity in the instruction of the veterans. Jim is a retired Sergeant Major, US Army who can relate to the veterans and who can use his expertise as a golf instructor to adapt the golf swing to the needs of the veterans.

Subsequent classes, three, have been conducted out of doors on the Blue Top Ridge driving range and practice green. Classes ranged in size from 4-6 to 8-10. Each class experienced the orientation, the practice with one on one instruction, the drills in putting, chipping and pitching, and the play on Blue Top Ridge. One class had a preponderance of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans while other classes have had WWII, Korean, and Vietnam veterans.

Riverside Casino & Golf Resort has just completed the construction of a Titleist Performance Center with three indoor bays looking out onto the driving range. This facility will be used during inclement weather for subsequent classes.

Jim Dickerson
G.I.V.E. Program Director

This video clip was extracted from the 2008 PGA Senior Championship which was contested on Memorial Day weekend, 2008.  The segment spotlights the newly formed G.I.V.E. Foundation.

CLICK HERE FOR NEWSLETTER

  “Some of our general physicians and psychiatrist have said they don’t know what we’re doing with the program but to keep it up,” said Kirt Sickels, spokesman for the Iowa City VA Medical Center. “It’s really lifechanging for some of these vets.” GIVE is the brainchild of Louis King, former executive director of the PGA of America. A veteran himself, and Riverside Casino & Golf Resort’s golf consultant, King was asked by Riverside Casino & Golf Resort CEO Dan Kehl to bring the Iowa PGA Section and the VA together to form the partnership at the Iowa Section’s new on-course home — Blue Top Ridge at Riverside.
  “The opportunity to give back to our men and women in the armed forces is what this program is all about,” Kehl said in a news release. “It is the least any one of us could do to show our appreciation of and respect for the men and women who serve our country.” GIVE launched with kickoff event in October and started lessons shortly after. Christensen estimates the program has served about 75 veterans to date. Veterans are referred to the program, with nearly 300 names on a waiting list.
  “It will take time and more volunteers, but we will keep this a quality program and we will get to every veteran on the list,” Christensen said.
 ¦ Contact the writer (319) 398-8434 or meredith.hines-dochterman@gazcomm.com

By Bob Denney
Senior Association Writer
The PGA of America

RIVERSIDE, Iowa – The cold, fickle November weather which Iowans have come to expect has done nothing to disrupt the mood among 17 veterans gathered indoors for one of the most memorable classrooms ever assembled in Iowa golf history.

The 17 students, who had served from World War II through Iraq, were the first student/participants in the inaugural Golf For Injured Veterans Everywhere (GIVE) Foundation program. The 17 were busy completing their seventh session on Nov. 12, a day after the country took pause for Veterans Day. A week later, they would celebrate the end of their golf “basic training.”

The program was conceived by Louis King, a veteran and former executive director of The PGA of America. King believes that golf could be an important part of an injured veteran’s recovery. King was asked by Dan Kehl to bring together the Iowa PGA Section and the VA to form the partnership at the Section’s new on-course home – Blue Top Ridge at Riverside. King was named president of the GIVE Foundation.
The Iowa PGA Section, in partnership with the Veterans Administration Medical Center of Iowa City and host Riverside Casino & Golf Resort has made this classroom possible. The partnership is unique for many reasons, but not without its undercurrent of selflessness among all parties.

Twenty-five Iowa PGA Professionals who have volunteered to give free instruction to injured veterans, giving them a new lease on life. And, the professionals also are learning from their students, many of whom brought their spouses to the training program.

“We’re not here because we’re getting paid,” said former Iowa PGA President Ken Schall of Des Moines. “We’re here because of the veterans, and what they have done for us. We’re lucky in our Section to have so many who may come and help. We’re a close-knit group. This is an ongoing program, where the ultimate goal is for all veterans to enjoy the game. I’ve seen so many good things take place already, and we’ve yet to take these veterans to the range and eventually play the course.”

The Veterans Administration has received 62 registrants, eager to join the GIVE project.

So, there are 17 who will become the first “graduates.” They have receiving training in all aspects of the game of golf – from the game’s timeless Rules and etiquette to all phases of shotmaking. Once the training is completed, the students were fitted for their own set of free clubs. PGA Professionals analyzed each veteran’s swing/abilities and customized the clubs to accommodate the player’s injuries.

Joe Corso of West Liberty, Iowa, is one of the GIVE “pioneer” students. The 63-year-old former E-5 Sergeant, has coped with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) since his last day of three tours of duty in 1969. He also learned late last summer that he has the early stages of leukemia.

Corso said that he had not left his home in a couple years, but now has reason to feel good again about fresh air and meeting new faces, including fellow veterans. He was joined in the classroom by his wife, Linda.

“This program has brought me closer to my wife,” says Corso. “The pros I’ve met are not just going through motions. They look you in the eye; they care about you. I’ve started building a little more trust; I feel born again.”

The warm feeling that Corso and others in the classroom feel would not be possible, however, without the other piece of the program fitting so well.

The Riverside Casino & Golf Resort, home of the Rees Jones-designed Blue Top Ridge, is a study in the commitment of Dan Kehl and his brother Bobby Kehl. Together, they founded the GIVE Foundation as a timeless service to all veterans. The resort soon will have a training center completed that will support year-round practice.
Iowa VA Medical Center Director Barry Sharp praised the program calling it a “truly unique partnership.”

“What excited me is that we have a partner giving a program to our veterans that previously didn’t exist – and at zero cost to the VA or the taxpayer,” said Sharp. “The support has been overwhelming. Our goal is to get it right in order that we may help other VA centers and many more veterans around the country. And, we have come a long way so far. There was a standing ovation for the vets at one of the meetings and I heard one vet tell me, ‘I can’t believe someone doing this for me!’ They are overwhelmed.”

Sharp oversees 1,200 employees at VA clinics in 32 counties in Iowa and 14 in western Illinois serving some 43,000 veterans. In addition to the Iowa City Veterans Medical Center, the state also has VA hospitals in Des Moines and Knoxville.
“We could not be more pleased to have the Iowa Veterans for Golf Program start in Iowa City,” said Sharp. “It shows a commitment from Iowa businesses and organizations to our veterans. It will bring great enjoyment to our veterans, their families, VA staff, PGA staff and Blue Top Ridge at Riverside staff.”

When Blue Top Ridge at Riverside opened on Aug. 1, a grand opening fundraiser raised $65,000 that day for the GIVE Foundation.
“It’s a start, a good start,” said Dan Kehl. “Golf might be one small way we can repay the debt all of us owe these great Americans. But, it doesn’t end there. We have many more miles to go.”

“He’s got big plans,” said Sharp of Kehl’s program. “What is so wonderful is that we have all the players that can make this happen.”

To “get it right,” as Sharp, the Iowa PGA and Kehl agree, there must be training for Iowa PGA Professionals to adapt to teaching both physically disabled as well as those suffering primarily from PTSD.

The Iowa PGA invited PGA/LPGA Professional Judy Alvarez of Palm City, Fla., to teach a class. Alvarez is The PGA of America’s National Trainer for the Wounded Warrior Program, and has led similar clinics nationwide.

“The Iowa VA and PGA officials were very open, very professional about their goals,” said Alvarez. “I was very impressed, and you know I also learned a lot from the speakers joining me that day – including a psychiatrist and one representing Family Wellness.

“It’s one thing to teach a veteran to hit a golf ball, but it’s another to understand what life is like for him or her before they arrive on the practice range. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder usually adds strains on a family, and many times the spouse has had to get another job to support the family after the veteran returns; there is a loss of intimacy and the spouse basically becomes a full-time caregiver for the kids.

“Golf is a program that is so much more helpful than we may realize. People escape to a golf program. When working with PTSD vets we learn that we sometimes have to repeat the information we give to veterans, to get them to focus. We may not give a full-fledged golf lesson, but we have to anticipate that and be patient. There is so much good being accomplished, and I applaud Iowa for what it has done and the great support it has received from both the facility and the VA.”

The GIVE Foundation program, administered by the Iowa PGA, has four phases of training for veterans to enhance their mental, social, physical, and emotional well-being and improve their quality of life: Introduction to Golf (rules, equipment, dress, scoring, etiquette, etc.), indoor instruction, outdoor practice at Blue Top Ridge and finally, golf rounds at Blue Top Ridge.

“This is as rewarding as heck,” said PGA Professional Jerry Johnson of Marshalltown, a past Iowa PGA Section president. “There are great people involved on both sides of this – the veterans and my fellow professionals.”

Katherine Sampica of Onslow, Iowa, 28, served in the Army Reserves from January 1997 through March 2004. Eh spent six months in Iraq and returned home with severe PTSD.

“My psychiatrist called me and gave me the information about this program,:” said Sampica. “I have always wondered about golf and I got jealous when my boyfriend and my oldest brother got to play. I said, ‘Where do I sign up?’”

Hank Britton, 50, is one of the GIVE graduates in the classroom. Britton spent 8½ years in the Navy, serving in Vietnam and later working with the physically and mentally disabled in Iowa. In 1996, he suffered a broken neck in a vehicle that was rear-ended while at a red light.

The County Home where Britton was employed as a bus driver closed its doors and he was without health care benefits. Britton has made a slow recovery from the accident, with limited mobility. To make matters worse, he contracted diabetes and began losing his vision three years ago. He has undergone 28 laser treatments to retain a minimal level of vision.

“I got a call from a VA coordinator in Des Moines who had picked up on my depression,” said Britton. “She said there was this program that I might be interested in attending. I ended up going to the Tee Tournament for the blind. I had kind of given up, but I really found that I could surprise myself. I was missing so much in my life. I know that this program has given me my life back. My friends saw a difference in me. I never thought I would enjoy golf. I was waiting to die, but that has changed.”

Joan Mulvania of Fulton, Ill., 44, served from 1986 to 1996 in Korea and also suffered from PTSD.

“I’m a former softball player and had never played golf before,” she said. “I have had so much fun here and this is something I can enjoy. I can see my friends and this program has been good to meet the veterans.”

PGA Professional Dave Schneider, the director of golf and general manager at Wakonda Club in Des Moines, had never taught a disabled student to play the game.

“This program is so far ahead of the curve,” said Schneider. “It is tremendous. It gives the student a completely new outlook on their psychological therapy. Golf transcends that. I believe that you are communicating with students as never before. I was nervous before I arrived. I did not want to fall short as a teacher.”

Julie Gorman of Cedar Rapids, 47, a former E-7 Sergeant, spent May 2003 through May 2004 in Iraq. She was “amazed” at how the PGA Professionals could reach all levels of disabled veterans with the game’s fundamentals.

“My injuries, from two surgeries on my feet, bursitis and PTSD are not what others have dealt with. I’m having fun trying to get back the joy that I had in things before. The day you step into Iraq is the day you step out of what you have enjoyed. I can tell you that we got down and kissed the ground when we came home.”

Two days before Thanksgiving, the “graduates” were fitted to new equipment by the Iowa PGA Professionals and each presented a complete set of clubs donated by Iowans at Iowa City, Coralville, and Cedar Rapids Hy-Vee Food Stores. Hy-Vee also presented each graduates with a Thanksgiving turkey.

“It’s incredible!” said Kirt Sickels, public relations officer for the Iowa City Medical Center. “We had a meeting recently and a physician came in and said, ‘I don’t know what’s happening with this patient, but all he wants to talk about is the GIVE program.

“For so long he had said how badly he was treated, but now all he can talk about is what he can do next with this golf program.”

Sickels said that veteran, Bob Briggs of Mount Pleasant, had come to the VA Center with a severe spinal cord injury and a traumatic brain injury to one side of his face.

Briggs was the victim of an explosion from a roadside bomb in Iraq. Briggs now limps and has only partial use of his right hand, and walks with the aid of a cane to the golf classroom.

“His wife, Betty, was overcome with emotion about seeing what she said was the new Bob,” said Sickels. “He is definitely one of the great stories in this program.”

There are more challenges ahead as Iowans receive more veterans to their communities and local VA clinics or hospitals.

“We have had some veterans who get in a car to come to this program, but get halfway and turn around,” said Sickels. “They don’t want to be pitied and have others looking at them any differently. Our goal is to get those people to come and experience how special things are here.”

Bob Denney is the Senior Association Writer of The PGA of America