The 5th Annual Green Brothers Celebrity Golf Tournament is set to tee off Wednesday, August 4th, with more celebrity-attendees planned than ever. The event, sponsored by General Mills and Cheerios/Betty Crocker Racing, will take place at the Summit Country Club in Owensboro, KY, which has hosted the event since 2000.
The tournament was started 5 years ago by NASCAR Busch Series drivers Mark and Jeff Green, and has been a sellout every year. Mark and Jeff once called Owensboro home, and consider it an opportunity to give back to their hometown. The tournament and the Green Foundation were set up to benefit a variety of charities in, as well as outside of the racing community.
“We look forward to the tournament every year. It gives us a chance to get back home and see our friends, but more importantly we are able to help out charities that are close to our hearts,” said Mark Green. “It means a lot to be in a position to give something back, and we even get to have a good time while doing it!”
The list of attendees who will show their support of the event reads as a who’s who among the NASCAR world. NASCAR legend Richard Petty, along with son Kyle, will attend the event to greet participants of the tournament. Busch Series drivers Jason Keller, Steve Grissom, Randy Lajoie and Tina Gordon will join Mark and Jeff for the event, as well as Craftsman Truck Series driver Rick Crawford. 2003 NASCAR Busch Series champ Brian Vickers will take time out of his schedule to join in the festivities, as will FOX Television broadcasters Larry McReynolds and Mike Joy. Mark’s son Tyler, who competes in the Bandolero Young Guns racing series at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, and Craftsman Truck Series driver Deborah Renshaw, will be in attendance as well.
In addition to the tournament, an auction will also be held, featuring items donated from many gracious people in the NASCAR community. Among the items to be auctioned are a Simpson helmet autographed by various Nextel Cup drivers, a case of 1:64 scale Richard Petty cars autographed by “The King” himself, and a replica hood autographed by Bobby Labonte to name a few. Other items up for auction are signed by such names as Tony Stewart, Ricky Craven, Terry Labonte, Ray Evernham, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Mark and Jeff Green.
“We are very thankful for everyone who gets involved in this deal. General Mills and Valor Oil, as well as the volunteers, help make this possible,” commented Jeff Green. “We certainly could not pull any of this off without the support of the NASCAR community. The NASCAR schedule makes everyone’s free time hard to come by, so we are grateful for them finding the time to help benefit these important charities.”
The Green Foundation was founded in 2002 by Jeff and Mark Green to assist three groups: at-risk youth through inspiration and programs to develop leadership skills, positive attitudes and family values, children who are chronically ill or who have life-threatening diseases, and organizations that support motorsports participants and their families. The foundation has raised more than $400,000 for these groups since its inception, with checks presented to the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the Down’s Syndrome Society, Children’s Miracle Network, Motor Racing Outreach, Busch Series Ladies Association, Victory Junction Gang Camp and local charities in Owensboro, Kentucky. For more information on the Green Brothers Celebrity Golf Tournament, call Keith Howard at Valor Oil at 1-800-544-5823 or visit the Green Foundation website at http://www.thegreenfoundation.org.
