“ The scholarship exposed her to more things that we don’ t normally get a chance to get to on a regular day, and she was able to do it.”
for The First Tee of Greater Richmond, is happy to see.
“ We really want our participants to use both facilities because they are so unique and different. She knows the coaches and people at both. It’ s really a core part of our chapter, not being tied to one particular facility,” Weinstein said.
The Fleming Fund and The First Tee chapters in Virginia have developed a mutually beneficial partnership. The Fund provides the money, and the First Tee chapters provide the golfers.
“ We wanted to partner with First Tee because they know which girls can benefit and are ready to benefit from an overnight camp experience. They have direct dayto-day, on-the-course and on-the-drivingrange observation of these girls,” said Anne Gordon Greever, chairman of the Fleming Fund and treasurer of the VSGA.
Once the First Tee chapters are told how many scholarships the Fleming Fund is providing to them, each chapter nominates girls to receive them.
“ We, as a team, put our heads together and think who we would like to ask. We reach out to those girls and tell them through the Fleming Fund you have been presented with this opportunity,” Weinstein said.“ I don’ t think we’ ve ever had anybody say no. We don’ t open it up. We may at some point if we are that competitive; if we have that many girls who are that good.”
Six of the seven First Tee chapters in Virginia sent girls to the Tar Heel and Wintergreen camps. The seventh chapter, The First Tee of the Virginia Blue Ridge, is so new it did not recommend any girls for this year.
The Fleming Fund was created in January 2015 when the former women’ s division integrated with the VSGA. The fund honors former women’ s division president Barbara Fleming of Virginia Beach, who was active in the division and a supporter of junior girls golf for decades.
During Fleming’ s tenure as president( 1994 – 95), the women’ s division grew from three tournaments to 10. She was a founding board member of The First Tee of Hampton Roads, and she received the
VSGA President’ s Award for her contributions and service in December 2014.
That same year, Greever was the VSGA’ s co-volunteer of the year. She was part of the leadership team that engineered the assimilation of the women’ s division’ s into the VSGA.
“ We had a pool of money left over from the women’ s division activities that in the past had been used, in part, to support junior girls golf,” Greever said.“ We decided to use those funds to create this new fund to in a very direct way benefit junior girls golf.”
The Fleming Fund is part of the VSGA- VIP Scholarship Foundation, which awards college scholarships to high school seniors annually, but the Fund’ s centerpiece is called Club-to-Camp.
Numerous clubs and golf associations( mostly 18- and 9-hole women’ s groups) have come together to donate scholarships that enable junior girls to attend golf camps.
“ The girls are getting a valuable and fun experience they would not otherwise enjoy,
“ The scholarship exposed her to more things that we don’ t normally get a chance to get to on a regular day, and she was able to do it.”
Denise Robinson, mother of scholarship recipient
Sarah Robertson, right, past president of the VSGA Women’ s Division, presents the VSGA President’ s Award to the Fleming Fund’ s namesake, past WD president Barbara Fleming, in 2014.
and club members who donate know their generosity is providing a golf learning experience that will keep on giving to the junior girl recipients,” Greever says.
Donations to the Fleming Fund are tax deductible.
“ What we say to a club is you can sponsor your girl, just go to your golfers … all it takes is for 35 golfers from the club to donate $ 20 each and boom, you have a golf camp scholarship. It’ ll be a four- or five-day camp for girls who otherwise would not have the opportunity to go,” Greever said.
Clubs that have sponsored scholarships include Willow Oaks CC( Greever’ s club), Blacksburg CC, Farmington CC, Spotswood CC, Country Club of Virginia, Country Club at The Highlands, Blue Ridge Golf Association, Glenmore CC, Kingsmill and Two Rivers CC.
When Jane Mack, an icon of women’ s golf in Virginia, died, monetary gifts in her memory were made and earmarked for multiple Fleming Fund scholarships.
The bottom line is Greever wants to see many more clubs involved with the Fleming Fund. The first year she told The First Tee of Greater Richmond the Fund had three scholarships and asked if it could find three girls who would benefit.
“ They said,‘ We could find 10.’ We have more girls than we have scholarships,” Greever said.“ But we have lots and lots of golf clubs who currently aren’ t participating, who we think should.”
vsga. org N OVEMBER / D ECEMBER 2017 | V IRGINIA G OLFER 15