More than 80 golfers kicked off a weekend of activities that are expected to raise nearly $25,000 for the Colbert County Girls Ranch, or FAME Ranch as it's widely known, with a Friday afternoon golf tournament at Twin Pines Country Club.
The weekend fund raiser also included a Sunday night concert by contemporary Christian band Big Daddy Weave at Russellville High School.
Buzzy McKinney, tournament coordinator for the three-man scramble, said 27 teams of three golfers hit the course on a beautiful Friday afternoon.
McKinney and his wife Emily started volunteering for the ranch five years ago by cooking a meal each weekend and taking it to the Littleville location.
“Through doing that we met some of the girls and really saw first-hand the good work going on at FAME Ranch,” McKinney said.
Along with several other ranches across Alabama, FAME Ranch is operated by the Boys and Girls Ranches of Alabama and its Board of Trustees, comprised of sheriffs as well as business and community leaders across the state. The ranch's operating budget is primarily raised through corporate and private-sector donations, like Friday's golf tournament. This is the third year for the October event.
McKinney expressed his appreciation to the tournament's presenting sponsors, University Honda and University Nissan of Florence. Additional support comes from Sunshine Mills, Inc., Pilgrim's of Russellville, Irby Construction, Inc., Twin Pines Country Club, CB&S Bank and “a host of others.”
Golfers enjoyed a lunch and had the opportunity to win some nice door prizes, including a football signed by the 2009 University of Alabama championship football team and Coach Nick Saban, a weekend getaway to the Peabody Hotel in Memphis and tickets to upcoming Crimson Tide football games.
Golfers had a shot to win a new Nissan Sentra or Honda Civic by scoring a hole-in-one on the 15th tee, McKinney said. More than $4,000 in winnings and door prizes were paid out to tournament participants.
McKinney was delighted with this year's response to the golf scramble and he hopes to see continued growth next year.
“After today, I think we can grow this event. Our capacity is 36 teams,” McKinney said. “We had beautiful weather this year and increased participation. We worked hard to get the word out, particularly through social media including Facebook.”
McKinney credited much of the tournament's success to Twin Pines General Manager Howard Beall and his staff.
“They are really a big part of all this. They take it on themselves to put out sponsor sign. They come in early and work late getting the course ready,” McKinney said. “We came today and they had every golf cart lined up and ready. We couldn't do this without them. We could not have anyone more accomodating than Howard and his staff.”
Fame Girls Ranch Director Cindy Hall said the weekend events were a success in large part due to the dedication of McKinney and other volunteers.
“God blessed us this summer and we had a musical event with Allison Krauss. When we got finished, her manager said it was one of the best-run events he'd ever been part of,” Hall said. “It went so well because of the level of volunteers we have and that helps us maximize the money raised. People like Buzz—he's our angel—and Trent Stephenson make this possible.
“We appreciate so much support from Franklin County and we have cared for a lot of girls from Franklin County through the years,” she added.
The ranch accepts girls from 6-18 years of age who are in family situations that require alternative placement for the child's safety or best interest. The ultimate goal is reunification of the child with her family, Hall explained.
“The best scenario is where we work with the child and the Department of Human Resources works with the parents and we can work together to make that family whole again,” Hall said. “Most situations that bring girls to us involve domestic violence or drug addiction.”
Hall said in most cases, the ranch will accept all placement referrals.
“If placement is appropriate with us and we have an opening, we take them. We study the situation and background to make sure it's appropriate,” Hall said.
For more information on the FAME Girls Ranch, call 256-331-3813.
