December 4, 2024 – Rosenberg, Texas – Clear blue skies and mild fall weather set the perfect stage on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at Black Hawk Country Club in Richmond, where the Lamar Educational Awards Foundation (LEAF) hosted its eighth annual “Golf Fore Greatness” tournament, raising money to fund teacher grants and student scholarships across Lamar CISD.
The golf tournament has been successful not just as a fundraising event – with participant slots selling out the past several years and this year’s tournament raising more than $140,000 for the foundation, up substantially from early years – but also as a sign of the strong and vital partnerships that help fuel the district’s impressive growth in recent years, as more and more families from across the country and all around the world choose to make their home within the Lamar CISD boundaries.
LEAF Executive Director Kameela Lewis oversaw the event, and explained how it has blossomed into a chance for business partners to forge deeper connections that go beyond the scope of any single contract or project.
“The golf tournament is an opportunity to create a bridge,” Lewis said, “and it’s become kind of a family reunion. Many of these donors have been with us for quite some time, so it’s an opportunity for them to show partnership while also building stronger relationships, with the district and with one another.”
Superintendent Dr. Roosevelt Nivens helped kick off the event, which began bright and early as players and other guests were greeted by student volunteers, drumline players and cheerleaders, as well as Lamar CISD student golfers, who joined with registered participants for a special putt-putt contest before the start of the official tournament.
“Our LEAF golf tournament has become a hallmark event on our annual calendar, bringing together so many of the people and business partners that support Lamar CISD and help make our extraordinary growth more manageable,” Nivens said. “It means so much to see the participation from our partners and other supporters who believe in the foundation’s mission, and who want to support its work that, in turn, supports our teachers and students.”
Among the approximately 50 event sponsors was architectural and consulting firm Stantec, whose support made the afterparty possible, complete with live music and both silent and live auctions of a range of donated items and services.
Stantec Principal and Bond Strategist Kimberly Bow, who is also a district parent and a member of the LEAF Board of Directors, explained why it was so important to her firm to support and take part in events like the golf tournament.
“As a community member and business partner with Lamar CISD, the reason why Stantec is involved here is we want to support our future leaders,” Bow said. “We want to support education within our communities, and that’s at the heart of what we do. We try and make a difference in every community that we’re involved in.”
Jim Rice, another longtime district supporter and president of the engineering and construction support services firm Rice & Gardner – which served as this year’s presenting sponsor – has been involved with the foundation’s golf tournament since its inception in 2016, and said he was always happy to return each year.
“I’m really pleased that it’s grown to this extent,” Rice said during the after-tournament event at the Black Hawk clubhouse. "I think this is the best one that we’ve had. A lot of people at LEAF work really hard to make this happen, and it’s really all about raising money to serve the teachers and the students.”
Rice also commented on the excitement of the district’s Grant Express event, where LEAF board members travel across the district to award grants to Lamar CISD teachers for innovative teaching and learning projects in their classrooms.
“They go to the schools, they surprise the teachers, and it’s so exciting,” Rice said. “It’s really a good thing, it’s a very life-affirming thing, and it’s doing something positive for kids.”
A special thanks to the 2024 LEAF Golf Fore Greatness sponsors. A full list of this year’s sponsors can be found HERE.
To view pictures from the golf tournament, please click HERE.
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