Valero Texas Open
Contents:
$6.8M Distributed Through Birdies for CharitySponsor Spotlight
Boots Fit for a Champion
$6.8M Distributed Through Birdies for Charity
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The fourth-annual Birdies for Charity’s Breakfast of Champions took place Friday, June 14th at The Rustic. Representatives from over 250 organizations – charities, schools and program sponsors -- from San Antonio, Austin and Corpus Christi attended the event as funds raised through the seven month-long Birdies for Charity campaign were distributed to the 180 participating agencies. Based on the generous support from donors, $6.376M was contributed with a collection of 99.845% of the fundraising total commitment. The final collections will conclude later this month.

The Birdies for Charity® campaign is a charitable initiative organized and supported by the Valero Texas Open, providing over 235 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 nearly $428,000 cumulatively.

Birdies for Charity Ambassadors, Randy Carroll (KJ 97 radio host) and David Chancellor (WOAI news anchor) helped to announce the record-breaking total of $6.8M distributed to charities from the 2019 fundraising program!

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GUESS THE BIRDIES CONTEST

Individuals who made contributions to Birdies for Charity had the chance to guess the number of birdies made at the Valero Texas Open in the Guess the Birdies Contest for a chance to win a Stay & Play Package provided by TPC San Antonio and the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa. Staff member, Misty Szyller, from Boy Scouts of America Alamo Area Council was the only donor to correctly guess 2,883 birdies were made and was surprised to hear she won this year’s contest.

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Misty Szyller (pictured right) supported Boy Scouts of America Alamo Area Council and won the Stay & Play Package provided by TPC San Antonio and the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa.

DONOR ATTENDANCE CONTEST

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Richard and Marilu Yount and their children won a Ford Ranger compliments of Jordan Ford.
Donors who attend at least one day of the Valero Texas Open (Thursday-Sunday) were entered into a grand prize drawing to win a two-year lease on a brand-new 2019 Ford Ranger courtesy of Jordan Ford as part of their 100-year anniversary.

At the conclusion of the Breakfast of Champions, representatives from Jordan Ford together with the Valero Texas Open surprised the Yount family with the keys to their new Ford Ranger.

Richard Yount made a contribution to The First Tee of Greater San Antonio through Birdies for Charity while attending the Valero Texas Open. His wife, Marilu, and son, Riley, had been volunteering their time working at one of the Donation Stations collecting Birdies for Charity donations from spectators. Little did they know Richard’s name would be randomly drawn by tournament officials post-tournament week.

By winning the Donor Attendance contest, the Yount family also earned The First Tee of Greater San Antonio an additional contribution of $20,000 from the Valero Texas Open.

Janina Collins, Executive Director for The First Tee of Greater San Antonio attended the Breakfast of Champions and was so moved by the surprise contribution awarded through this contest. The Yount family’s two children participate in The First Tee program in addition to volunteering their time to the younger children in the Tiny Tigers golf program.

“This means so much and will do great things for the children and the families that participate in The First Tee of Greater San Antonio’s golf programs,” said Collins.

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In addition to the Ford Ranger, the Yount family also earned The First Tee of Greater San Antonio an additional contribution of $20,000.

WELLS FARGO DRAWING

During the fundraising campaign the Wells Fargo Drawing 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 $2,000. Six (6) lucky charities earned a cumulative total of $12,000 from the Wells Fargo Drawing. The drawings took place on Facebook Live with the help of Randy Carroll and David Chancellor as they each alternated for each contest to randomly draw a qualified charity.

StarChristian Assistance Ministry
StarChromosome 18 Registry & Research Society
StarI Care San Antonio
StarJunior Achievement of South Texas
StarSan Antonio Lighthouse for the Blind & Vision Impaired
StarTeed Off at Cancer

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Laura Cabanilla, Vice President of Community Development for Wells Fargo pictured with the six charities that each won $2,000.

TOP 10 LEADERBOARD

A special congratulations to this year’s top-10 performing charities from the 2019 fundraising campaign. The totals listed below are specifically the amounts raised by each charity, not including incentives earned.

Star#1 – Children's Rehabilitation Institute TeletonUSA – $445,020
Star#2 – San Antonio Lighthouse for the Blind & Vision Impaired – $398,000
Star#3 – Respite Care of San Antonio, Inc. – $300,421
Star#4 – Arms of Hope – $280,170
Star#5 – Military Warriors Support Foundation – $230,378
Star#6 – Morgan's Wonderland – $222,474
Star#7 – The Ecumenical Center – $215,600
Star#8 – Phil Hardberger Park Conservancy – $186,911
Star#9 – Dreamhill Estates Educational Resource Center – $175,810
Star#10 – The Blood & Tissue Center Foundation – $171,050
Birdies for Charity, thanks to its corporate supporters, is able to deliver 100% of all funds raised to participating organizations. Please visit www.ValeroTexasOpen.com to learn more about the Valero Texas Open and its Birdies for Charity program.

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Boots Fit for a Champion
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Established in 1883, Texas-bred Lucchese uses time-honored craftsmanship techniques to build handmade boots of unrivaled quality, fit, comfort and style. In virtually every step of the boot-making process, they rely on human hands to complete centuries-old tasks to perfection.

Lemonwood pegs are carefully hand-hammered into holes cut in the leather and are more malleable than metal, as they expand and contract with moisture at almost an identical rate as leather. This old world boot-making method is more effective than using a material like brass nails, which would be forced out of the outsole as it swells when exposed to water.

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Additionally, lemonwood pegs complete the structure of the boot by holding the insole and outsole together, maintaining the integrity of the hand-lasted instep's fit.

Lucchese artisans expertly guide the needle through the leather by hand, creating the beautiful stitch patterns — from vibrant to classic — that serve as just one mark of the extreme craftsmanship Lucchese cowboy boots are known for.

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The Valero Texas Open champion boots’ custom design takes nearly six months to make while ensuring handcrafted perfection. The boots are made out of black caiman crocodile belly and includes the Texas star-shaped applique accents and stitched with the Valero Texas Open logo.

This tradition began at the 2008 Valero Texas Open when Zach Johnson was awarded his boots following his win at La Cantera. Johnson is the only champion to have received two pairs of Champion Boots and selected brown leather boots for his second pair to celebrate his 2009 victory.

Lucchese is proud to be a part of this 11-year tradition of providing boots to the Valero Texas Open champion – a tradition that will live on long into the future.

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Sponsor Spotlight
Sponsor
For years, we’ve kept our focus simple at The Rustic — Kitchen. Backyard. Bar. Live Music — and we wouldn’t change it for anything. Enjoy home style meals made with farm-to-table ingredients, sip local craft beers and cocktails under the stars or catch a performance nightly by local and national artists. We take pride in using quality ingredients and products sourced from Texas vendors — seafood from the Gulf, steaks from local ranchers and dairy and produce grown by local farmers. With 40 beers on tap and a variety of cocktails, you can taste the Lone Star State in all that we serve. You could say live music is a passion of ours. On an almost nightly basis, you can catch the best local and national acts on our outdoor stage.

www.therustic.com