The First Tee of Silicon Valley Participates in Alum Rock Unified School District’s Back to District Night.

On Tuesday, September 18th, The First Tee of Silicon Valley participated in the Alum Rock Unified District‘s Back to School Night. Over 500 attendees from families across the Alum Rock School District attended the event which included student performances and information on local community service organizations and resources. The First Tee of Silicon Valley set up an informational booth for students, parents, and guardians to find out more about our in-school and after school programs. Students and families were also able to try golf using our DRIVE equipment. “Thank you Alum Rock Unified School District for inviting and including us in your community network,” said Program Manager, Chris Moreno-Hunt. “We are proud to serve their students and be a positive influence in their community.”

Sacred Heart Nativity School Begins Their In-School Golf Classes

On Tuesday, September 18th, Sacred Heart Nativity School implemented The First Tee of Silicon Valley’s DRIVE program for the first time in the 2018/19 school year. Located in San José, Sacred Heart Nativity School provides a transformative tuition-free middle school education to low-income youth. This week over 100 Sacred Heart students will play golf as a part of their PE class and explore how to show respect for others, themselves, and their surroundings through golf. Tuesday marks the first of 18 DRIVE classes taught by the school’s physical educators. “We are excited to partner with Sacred Heart Nativity School,” said Program Manager, Chris Moreno-Hunt. “Golf is not always the most accessible sport, but with DRIVE being delivered at their school, their students can enjoy the sport and learn the intrinsic core values associated with the game at no cost.”

“Engaging” Pre-Fall Mentor Training

On Saturday, August 25th 22 mentors came out to Rancho del Pueblo to participant in our pre-Fall Mentor Training Session.  The focus of the day was on engagement and class management.  The mentors played a rousing game of Golfer and practiced their Sportsmanship by encouraging each other with each shot.
For More information on how you can become a volunteer, click here.

Ace Participant Attends MIT LaunchX Entrepreneurship Program

This summer, I attended the LaunchX entrepreneurship program at MIT in which students expanded upon their business skillset by developing startups in teams. Through this program, I had the opportunity to listen to riveting lectures from industry leaders and young entrepreneurs on the roadblocks that can make or break startups, the importance of understanding your customer persona, and the iterative process of prototyping. Absorbing key marketing, sales, and finance principles, I applied this knowledge in a team setting to go though the process of creating the startup, Bippy. The mission of our company is to improve the educational experience of students with learning differences. To carry out this mission, we created a robot that helps elementary school children with ADHD focus on their work by utilizing a personalized system of reminders and incentives. On Demo Day, the final day of the program, my team and I had the opportunity to pitch our startup to a panel of business professionals and investors to receive valuable feedback. We were able to display our working prototype, explain the features of our robot, and share our plans to continue the startup past the end of the program. During the four weeks of the program, I got to explore Cambridge, meet incredibly intelligent high school students from across the world, and grow my business knowledge. LaunchX was an amazing experience, and I am so glad I pursued the opportunity! Varsha Nekkanti Current Ace Participant 2017 Outstanding Participant & Leadership Summit Attendee 2018 John Deere Power for Good Scholarship Winner

Meet our 4 New Board Members

The First Tee of Silicon Valley recently added three new Directors to our Board. Board Directors vote, provide planning, performance, legal and financial oversight and raise sufficient funds to ensure TFTSV’s success. Steve Guerrero, Jr. has over 20 years of business development experience and is currently working at Western Digital in Enterprise Sales. Steve is most proud of his humanitarian work through the non-profit organizations he has been affiliated with including the Role Model Program and Boy Scouts of America SCC. He joined the TFTSV as a Board Director in June 2018. Frank Wilde is a seasoned executive and management consultant with a track record of success in software development, marketing strategy, and customer loyalty; and is currently working in SAP’s Global Center of Excellence division as the Sr. Director. Frank enjoys community service and philanthropy by serving his 24th year on the Executive Board for Habitat for Humanity San Francisco.  He joined TFTSV in 2017 as an Ambassador and was asked to become a Director in August of 2018. Steve Almassy, Jr. is a retired Partner from EY after an impressive 41-year career and continues to serve as an Industry Global Vice Chair. Steve is an Advisory Board Member for Worldwide Women and SCU Leavey School of Business. He joined TFTSV as a Board Director in August of 2018. In addition to three new Directors, The First Tee of Silicon Valley added one new Ambassador.  TFTSV’s Board Ambassadors give advice, assist with projects, represent the organization in the community at events, help raise funds, and expand TFTSV’s network throughout Silicon Valley and beyond. Reka Mishara specializes in Hands On Technology Program Management, Global Business Operations and is a Transformation Leader. She is currently working in the Center of Excellence division of Silicon Valley Bank Financial Group as the Enterprise Program Management Officer.  She has been very involved at the non-profit PMI and is very passionate about the Women in Leadership Initiative, driving diversity and mentorship. Reka joined TFTSV Board as an Ambassador in August 2018.

Participant Survey Measures Impact

The First Tee of Silicon Valley wanted to hear how participants felt about our youth development program through golf so we conducted a survey of the 210 students that attended the 2018 Summer session. We were happy to learn that 92% of the participants said their golf skills improved and 88% said their life skills improved by taking an 8-week session. But more importantly, 94% said they had fun which is why over 55% of our participants progress through the program. Our curriculum is divided into 5 levels where students are learning 10 Golf Skills while applying The First Tee Nine Core Values and the 27 Core Life Lessons. Through this process participants learn to appreciate diversity, resolve conflicts, build confidence and set goals for their future. The First Tee of Silicon Valley believes positive youth development happens through a meaningful, quality relationship between the coach and participant. Mentor coaches are critical to ensuring our participants have an optimum and enjoyable learning environment.  Over 72% of our participants felt their coach “cared about them”. We are always assessing how our participants learn best so we can connect with them at a high level. 58 % said they learn best by doing, 21% by seeing, 13% by hearing which is why we keep our lessons very interactive. We also asked parents a few questions and were happy to learn that 89% said they plan to continue enrolling their child in TFTSV classes and 82% said the environment (making friends, building a community, and creating a sense of belonging) was very good or excellent.

PGA Golf Clinics for Women

PGA Golf Clinics for Women came to Palo Alto Hills Golf and Country Club on August 20th. The clinics are led by PGA of America, delivered by Jane Blalock (27-time winner on the LGPA Tour), and presented by MetLife. It was part of a nationwide series of 12 full-day events designed to welcome and empower women to learn more about golf. Their vision is to impact future generations of women to be more successful on and off the course, as well as enhance their personal connection to the game.  96 clinic participants learned golf skills while making social and business connections. They received personalized assessments and instruction from PGA Professionals and LPGA Teaching and Club Professionals including our own local pros and TFTSV Program Instructors Molly Springmann, Collen Henry and Kuniko Tischler. The First Tee of Silicon Valley was pleased to be on-site with an information booth to show our support for empowering women through golf.

95.3 KRTY $5,000 Check Presentation at the Justin Moore Concert

95.3 KRTY presented a generous $5,000 donation to The First Tee of Silicon Valley as the beneficiary of the sold-out Justin Moore concert at Clos La Chance Winery on August 20th.  It was an amazing evening as over 700 people sat under the stars to enjoy an intimate music performance. Justin who is a golfer himself and played that morning next door at CordeValle said to the audience, “I am so happy to be a part of this charity night in support of The First Tee of Silicon Valley – they are doing great work teaching kids core values through the game of golf.” A special thanks to KRTY staff: General Manager, Nate Deaton; Sales Manager Tina Ferguson and Promotions Director, Jamie Jackson for supporting us.  Also in attendance was TFTSV Board Director, Ernie Moreno and his wife Stacy along with TFTSV President/CEO, George Maxe and TFTSV Development Director, Judy Dixon (all pictured below).

Corena Green Classic Proves Successful for 3 Participants

Three girls from The First Tee of Silicon Valley had a great time playing in the Women’s Nine Hole Golf Association’s Corena Green Classic at Contra Costa Country Club on August 7th. Borina Sutikto won as overall champion (14-17-year old flight) which included a $700 college scholarship. She finished the back 9 with a score of 36 – even par; Belinda Sutikto won 1st place (12-year old flight) with a score of 34 – 2 under on the front 9; Bonita Sutikto won the 2nd place (9-year old flight) with a score of 64 on the front 9.

Adult & Junior Tournament

On August 18th, The First Tee of Silicon Valley hosted our STEM-themed Adult & Junior Tournament at Rancho del Pueblo Golf Course. The event commenced with two demonstrations on how STEM is intertwined with golf. Volunteer Coach Alina Feng discussed the reasoning for dimples on a golf ball while Coach Matt and Coach Chris presented kinetic energy, rolling resistance, and how they relate to the speed of a putting green. Seventeen participants were paired with a parent, guardian, or TFTSV staff member in a 9-hole scramble format. Congratulations to all of our participants for competing with honesty, integrity, and sportsmanship. The 2018 TFTSV Adult & Junior Tournament is a valuable event for our students to bond with a mentor or family member in a golf environment. This low-pressure tournament is a great stepping stone for students to learn how to deal with adversity, expectations, and teamwork. We hope these tournaments help our students feel more confident in engaging conversation with others in a tournament setting.

Golf Outing with SAP

George does a great job of keeping in touch with sponsors and supporters of The First Tee, including SAP. Our friends at SAP hold monthly golf tournaments as a piece of company culture and team bonding. Vice President of SAP and First Tee of Silicon Valley Board of Directors member Dean Sivara (in the orange polo in the photo) has long been an active supporter of The First Tee, its programs, and its missions to develop important life skills in youth through the setting of golf. On Saturday 8/11/18, George invited me to join Dean and the rest of the SAP team at their friendly golf tournament at San Jose Municipal Golf Course. I had a great time meeting everyone in the group and hearing about their diverse backgrounds of work at SAP. It was a pleasure to represent The First Tee as both a past graduate of the program and current volunteer coach, and was also very happy to hear that many of them were familiar with The First Tee program and had very positive things to say about us. I had a chance to tell them about my background in the program and share some of my experiences, as well as convey my appreciation for their ongoing support of our organization. Overall, we had some great conversations, played some great golf, and I’d be more than happy to do it again in the future. Vijay Shimoga UC San Diego

The First Tee of Silicon Valley has 4 Teens Selected to Play in Official PGA TOUR Champions Event

Four participants head to Pebble Beach for PURE Insurance Championship Impacting The First Tee The First Tee of Silicon Valley is sending Linette Jun, Calton Kong, Erica Lam & Kelly Yu to compete in the 2018 PURE Insurance Championship Impacting The First Tee, an official PGA TOUR Champions event to be contested at Pebble Beach Golf Links and Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach, California, September 24-30. The tournament, which is hosted by the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, will be televised internationally on Golf Channel September 28-30. The PURE Insurance Championship is the only event of its kind in which 81 junior golfers from The First Tee are teamed with 81 PGA TOUR Champions players and 162 amateurs during an official PGA TOUR Champions tournament. Linette Jun, Calton Kong, Erica Lam, and Kelly Yu will be competing for the pro-junior title. They will join 77 other participants from The First Tee chapters, selected by a national panel of judges. The participants, which represent 22 states, were selected based on playing ability and application of the Nine Core Values and life skills learned through their involvement with The First Tee’s programs. “Linette, Calton, Erica and Kelly will be outstanding representatives of The First Tee of Silicon Valley. Each of them embodies the life skills, core values and strong character traits that we teach all of our participants. We were proud to endorse their applications for the event and will be excited to follow their week of activities and play with the pros.” – George Maxe, President & CEO, The First Tee of Silicon Valley
Linette Jun
Calton Kong
Erica Lam
Kelly Yu