SAN ANTONIO, Tex. - The director of communications for the chief of the National Guard Bureau was the keynote speaker at the opening session of The First Tee's Network Meeting, being held Feb. 17-19 in San Antonio.
In addition to welcoming the more than 600 attendees, Jack Harrison spoke about The First Tee's partnership with the Department of Defense.
"The National Guard is deployed around the world today in numbers not seen since the Second World War," Harrison said. "It is these kinds of programs that help our family members through these long, tough separations."
The First Tee Life Skills Experience teaches young people core values learned through the game of golf such as honesty and respect, along with managing emotions, goal setting, interpersonal communication and conflict resolution. In 2009,
The Military Affiliate Program began offering character education and life skills training to children of military personnel stationed at U.S. military installations. An overseas version of the program was launched by June 2010 at overseas bases in Cuba, Germany, Guam, Italy, Japan, Puerto Rico, South Korea and Spain. In total, The First Tee trained Morale, Welfare and Recreation personnel to implement the program at 100 domestic and 20 overseas installations, in addition to offering free programs to the children of National Guardsmen and Reservists at 200 First Tee chapters across the U.S.
A military parent, whose daughter participated in the school program as well as the summer program at The First Tee of Nashville at Cole Park golf course, also spoke during the session..
Diandra "Dee" Hilmo, the wife of Army Sergeant First Class Sterling Hilmo, Charlie Company, 1-101 Aviation Regiment, discussed the impact the program has had on her daughter's life.
"Kianna began talking about things like college and golf, dad and golf, even family and golf, and I realized that this program was teaching my daughter more than golf skills," Hilmo said. "It was teaching her life skills. It was reinforcing the ideal of being a good person now and, like golf, building on that foundation and improving in the future. And that mentality is something I think we can all agree the world can never have enough of."
The annual meeting draws together The First Tee's chapter executive directors, program directors, board members, coaches and volunteers dedicated to impacting the lives of young people through the game of golf. Military families can learn more about The First Tee by visiting thefirsttee.org/military.