Community Corner
Mendakota Country Club Hosts Annual 'Tee It up for the Troops'
The annual charity golf tournament in Mendota Heights raises funds to benefit military service members and their families.
The seventh annual “Tee it up for the Troops” golf tournament at Friday was just one small part in a nationally growing movement to honor and assist members of the United States Armed Forces.
The golfers at Mendakota participated in the "National Day of Golf," a benefit for military service members and their families. The National Day of Golf has produced numerous golf outings across the country, with the proceeds going to benefit veterans of all branches of the services and all conflicts.
Founder JB Ball of Savage was inspired in 2005 to act by his son serving in Iraq. Since then, the Tee it up for the Troops organization, based in Burnsville, has raised in excess of $4 million, said Ball.
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“Basically it was my idea in response to what my son had requested in me,” Ball said. “My son was deployed in Iraq and we asked him, 'What can we send?' He said they were on patrol 12-14 hours a day and sleeping in the humvees, and that we should do something for the soldiers and families back home. So we started thinking about what we could do,” Ball said.
The Day of Golf event last Friday started with an opening ceremony that included a presentation of the colors, the national anthem, a wreath-laying ceremony to honor Minnesota Gold Star families and a moment of silence in remembrance of 9/11.
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One tournament highlight is the participation of service members from military hospitals where they are recovering from battlefield injuries.
Golf tournament participants included past and present military members, celebrities, professional golfers and members of the public and business community.
Proceeds are spread among dozens of agencies, including the Wounded Warrior Project, the Fisher House program at the Minneapolis V.A. Hospital and the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.
Over 90 percent of funds raised go directly to the programs that support military service members and their families.
The response of golfers and corporations participating in the tournaments has been generous, Ball said.
“I think it's humbling,” he said. “You see the goodness of the population.”
Tee it up for the Troops is supported by the Club Managers Association of America. Its member golf courses across the country host National Day of Golf events.