Bringing Us Together Through Golf

Every year, many of us participate in a number of charity golf scrambles. I usually team up with my brothers and some close friends. I like to play golf, but what I really appreciate is spending time on the golf course with my brothers and friends while playing golf. Golf is what brings us together. Any chance I get to participate in a golf scramble, I'll do my best to be there if for no other reason than just to get together with family and friends.

Last week, we hosted the 13th Annual Memphis Catholic/Education That Works Golf Tournament at Irene Golf and Country Club. Instead of playing this year, I had the privilege of driving a beverage and snack cart around the course. I enjoyed it because I got the opportunity to meet everyone who participated in the tournament and to see some good and sometimes comical golf.

We host this event because it is a Fun-Raiser; it is a fun way of raising funds for Memphis Catholic. We need to raise money in order to do the best we can in providing our students the best education possible.

Our sponsors bring in the bulk of the funds raised. We focused this year on bringing in new sponsors to this event instead of soliciting our usual donors. We can drink from the same well too often. Don't want the wells to go dry. We were able to bring in many new sponsors for the tournament plus eight restaurants that provided all the prizes.

The company that probably sponsors more of our events than any other is Greystone. Billy Posey is a proud graduate of Catholic High as well as a Hall of Fame member. Greystone is also a supporter and promoter of the Education That Works program at Memphis Catholic. Every year, four Memphis Catholic students intern at Greystone. Billy and Greystone are improving the lives of many of our students as well is making our community a better place to live. We are all better for having Greystone's support.

Pediatric Dental Group (PDG) is another local business that supports everything we do including the 5K, golf tournament, and Education That Works.  John and Terry Acosta (Terry is a Memphis Catholic graduate) sponsor through PDG and personally. You would be hard pressed to find two nicer people. The Acosta and Aur families have been very close since the 90's with our kids started playing soccer together.

Health Choice has once again stepped up to sponsor our golf tournament. They also sponsored the Memphis Catholic 5K. We are very grateful to Mitch Graves and his team at Health Choice for investing in our students.

Michael and Silvia Hecht have been supporting the Jubilee Schools since 2002 when I was the principal of Holy Names. If there is a Jubilee event, Michael and Silvia are there to help. Wish we all had hearts as big as their's. I have known Michael since our teenage years out on the soccer field.

Neil Heins, owner of Neil's Grille and Bar and a member of the Memphis Catholic Hall of Fame, is always there to support the school be it the 5K, Wings of Jubilee, or golf tournament. He is proud of his alma mater and wants to invest in the future of our students.

Some of our newest sponsors include:

Danny Burke of Crye-Leike Realtors: Danny and I were classmates at CBHS. His father was a member of Catholic High Class of 1950. He sponsored because he wants to pay back the good he received while growing up. We could all use some help and Danny wants to provide the help we sometime need.

John Snyder, Managing Director of SVN/Investec Realty Services: John and I have spent many hours on the soccer field together; John was refereeing and I was getting yellow carded. John currently serves as the president of the Tennessee State Soccer Association and is a member of the East Memphis Rotary Club.



Richard Piretti, Jr of Piretti Home and Garden: Richard is a former student and soccer player of mine at CBHS. It is great seeing him support the education of our students. He is a fantastic young man.

Bryan Shaver, Vice President of Sales for Insurance Consulting Group, Inc.: If there is a Catholic (not just Memphis Catholic) event going on, you will find Bryan there in support. Thanks Bryan for supporting Memphis Catholic and Blue Streak Scholarship Fund.


Dr. Carl Schulter of Dental Implant Aesthetic Center: Dr. Schulter appeared out of the blue to support our golf tournament. We sent him a letter and he said yes. Dr. Schulter could not have been any nicer.

Dr. Bill Terrell of Memphis & Shelby County Pediatric Group: Dr. Terrell is also a member of the Memphis Catholic Hall of Fame. He could not participate in the tournament this year so he decided to sponsor it instead.

We received a special treat this year from Jerry Melton at Principle Toyota. He sponsored three hole-in-ones at the event including the chance to win a brand new Toyota Camry for the person who could sink a hole-in-one on number 4 at Irene. One person came within 10-feet but unfortunately, no one won the car.

Here is a great example of non-profit organizations helping each other. We have four students in the ETW program interning at JA. As a thanks to Memphis Catholic, JA has helped sponsor our golf tournament. We have a great relationship with JA, which will only continue to grow even stronger.

The team prizes for the tournament are all restaurant gift certificates.  We receive great support from the wonderful, hard-working restaurant folks. Our go-to restaurants are Bangkok Alley, Celtic Crossing, and Dino's Grill.

Thara & Dottie (Cull) Burana are owners of Bangkok Alley. Dottie is a graduate of Immaculate Conception. Her brothers are all graduates of Catholic High. Bangkok Alley has supported every Jubilee School event I can think of. They want what's best for the children and our community. My wife and I enjoy their outdoor dining at Brookhaven Circle. Great place to go to relax and unwind.

D.J. & Jamie Naylor are owners of Celtic Crossing. In my opinion, they serve
up the best fish and chips in town. Just like the Buranas, the Naylors support everything we do for the Jubilee Schools. They are very philanthropic folks and great friends to all. If you want to learn more about D.J. and Jamie, listen to them on cityCURRENT radio show. http://citycurrent.com/blogdetails/408/Radio-Show-Celtic-Crossing

Rudy Grisanti, owner of Dino's Grill, is a graduate of Catholic High. Rudy and his son, Mario, help us at all of our events. Mario is also a former student and soccer player of mine at CBHS. Dino's has some of the best lunch specials you will find in Mid-Town. Mario makes the best Tiramisu you'll ever eat!

Edward Cabigao, operating partner and co-owner of Interim, S.O.B. (South of Beale), and Zaka Bowl provided gift certificates from these three restaurants. I'm looking forward to dining at Zaka Bowl because I have not been there yet. Interim and SOB are both awesome restaurants

Our neighbors around the corner from Memphis Catholic, Frank,
Hazel, and Eric Vernon at The Bar-B-Q Shop also provided gift certificates for the winners. You've got to try their barbecue spaghetti but don't wear a white dress shirt when you do. I've made that mistake before. It was worth it.

Scott Smith at Holiday Deli & Ham Co. on Erin Drive also stepped up to support the golf tournament. Most of my planning meetings take place at that location so it was a nice way for Scott to thank us for the business we bring his way.

Our golf tournament not only brought together a lot of golfers but also a lot of local businesses in support of the work we do at Memphis Catholic. It takes a lot of great folks coming together to make our community better. Golf is just one means of bringing us together.

Thank you to all those who supported our 13th Annual Memphis Catholic/Education That Works Golf Tournament. Please support those great folks who support us. Together, our students learn and our community grows.

If you missed out on the tournament but want to support Memphis Catholic and Education that Works, click below to go to our donation page. You are the reason we can offer our students a better tomorrow.

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God bless you,
Didier Aur