Military Members Honored By Tim Rogers, NorthernOhio.Golf Last month the Northern Ohio PGA (NOPGA) honored 40 former and active military members at the first PGA HOPE CUP at Portage Country Club. The participants were all part of PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere) a national endeavor that introduces golf to veterans and active personnel to enhance their physical, mental, social, and emotional well-being. Ten fivesomes from the clubs and facilities in Northern Ohio, which included one NOPGA professional, played a 9-hole scramble and attended a luncheon in which they were thanked for their service to our country. Executive Director David Griffith estimated that the NOPGA Section Foundation and the current 11 PGA HOPE programs impacted more than 250 veterans and active military personnel in Northern Ohio in 2023. Renee Powell founded the state’s first PGA HOPE chapter at her family’s Clearview Golf Club in East Canton 12 years ago. Since then, ten additional programs have been founded throughout Northern Ohio. Powell, member of the PGA Hall of Fame and the second African-American woman to compete on the Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour in 1967, addressed the group. “Thank you all for your service to our nation,” said Powell, who visited Vietnam in 1971 to support U.S. troops through the USO. “If it weren’t for you, we couldn’t live the way we do. We would not be able to live in safety and we couldn’t live in freedom. My heart goes out to all of you and I can’t thank you enough.” The PGA HOPE program includes a six-to-eightweek curriculum led by PGA Professionals trained in adaptive golf and military cultural competency. The program is funded by PGA REACH and supplemented by PGA Section Foundations and is free to all U.S. Military Veterans. Ohio Golf Journal
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