Hitting the links for a good cause
By Gil Brandt
When you're fortunate enough to work for an NFL team and help control its destiny, your salary is partially paid for by the people in the community who buy tickets to the game. I always worked hard when I was the vice president of player personnel for the Cowboys, and it was great to receive adulation from the Dallas public. But I always felt that I wasn't doing enough.
People say I gave back by helping the Cowboys win multiple Super Bowls, but it's not enough. When you live in a big city like Dallas, it's important that you give back and help the community get stronger. I would feel that way if I were a former Cowboys employee or a former sanitation worker.
So I get a lot of satisfaction spending my time at charity events, including a recent one called the Reba McEntire Charity Golf Classic.
This isn't the first time I've talked about Reba's event; last year around this time I was singing the praises like Reba sings her songs. Previously, the event helped a hospital in Texoma, the North Texas/South Oklahoma area, which is an area that didn't have much medical care before now. Since the hospital is up and running, this year's cause was for the Reba Ranch House, which is similar to the Ronald McDonald House. It's the 16th year this has been put on, and believe me, it's not losing any steam.
The big part of the weekend is the golf tournament, which not only raises money -- about $100,000 -- for Reba's charity, but also awards tons of prizes. Sponsors will often put up nice prizes for the golfers to get by either shooting a hole-in-one or by winning a closest-to-the-pin contest, and there were about four prizes per hole. So participants can land a prize that way, or win money for finishing in the top 15. It's a nice win-win situation for everybody involved.
My sixsome on the links included retired Major League Baseball pitcher Danny Darwin, who was a great golfer and a great guy. Believe it or not, Darwin was the starting pitcher on the day Reba first sang The Star-Spangled Banner before a Milwaukee Brewers game, so he had some obvious connections to the country music legend.
Darwin is one of many celebrities you'll come across at charity outings like these. I happened to bump into David Parks, an ex-NFL wide receiver and the last person the 49ers selected with the No. 1 overall pick in an NFL draft. I asked Parks if he would have taken Alex Smith, whom San Francisco chose, and he said if it had been up to him he would have traded down and selected some linemen, which I found interesting coming from the mouth of a wide receiver.
Parks and former Cowboys tight end Billy Jo Dupree were only two of the former NFL players in attendance; Dupree is one of the all-time good guys, both as a player and an individual.
But alas, the star of the weekend is Miss McEntire, and she didn't disappoint. Despite two lengthy rain delays, Reba still made her on-course appearances and took pictures with every sixsome on hand. It sure doesn't hurt your eyes to look at her. Then after the drives and putts were done, Reba teamed up with Joe Nichols and played to a 6,000-person crowd, with all the money made from ticket sales going straight to the Reba Ranch House.
When you walk away from a charity event like this, you can't help but feel like you've done your part to help give back to the community. Sure, I didn't build somebody a house or feed the hungry, but I didn't just sit on my couch this weekend and do nothing. I feel better about myself, better about my community, and I can't wait to see Reba again next year.
CLICK HERE to discuss in our forum.
When you're fortunate enough to work for an NFL team and help control its destiny, your salary is partially paid for by the people in the community who buy tickets to the game. I always worked hard when I was the vice president of player personnel for the Cowboys, and it was great to receive adulation from the Dallas public. But I always felt that I wasn't doing enough.
People say I gave back by helping the Cowboys win multiple Super Bowls, but it's not enough. When you live in a big city like Dallas, it's important that you give back and help the community get stronger. I would feel that way if I were a former Cowboys employee or a former sanitation worker.
So I get a lot of satisfaction spending my time at charity events, including a recent one called the Reba McEntire Charity Golf Classic.
This isn't the first time I've talked about Reba's event; last year around this time I was singing the praises like Reba sings her songs. Previously, the event helped a hospital in Texoma, the North Texas/South Oklahoma area, which is an area that didn't have much medical care before now. Since the hospital is up and running, this year's cause was for the Reba Ranch House, which is similar to the Ronald McDonald House. It's the 16th year this has been put on, and believe me, it's not losing any steam.
The big part of the weekend is the golf tournament, which not only raises money -- about $100,000 -- for Reba's charity, but also awards tons of prizes. Sponsors will often put up nice prizes for the golfers to get by either shooting a hole-in-one or by winning a closest-to-the-pin contest, and there were about four prizes per hole. So participants can land a prize that way, or win money for finishing in the top 15. It's a nice win-win situation for everybody involved.
My sixsome on the links included retired Major League Baseball pitcher Danny Darwin, who was a great golfer and a great guy. Believe it or not, Darwin was the starting pitcher on the day Reba first sang The Star-Spangled Banner before a Milwaukee Brewers game, so he had some obvious connections to the country music legend.
Darwin is one of many celebrities you'll come across at charity outings like these. I happened to bump into David Parks, an ex-NFL wide receiver and the last person the 49ers selected with the No. 1 overall pick in an NFL draft. I asked Parks if he would have taken Alex Smith, whom San Francisco chose, and he said if it had been up to him he would have traded down and selected some linemen, which I found interesting coming from the mouth of a wide receiver.
Parks and former Cowboys tight end Billy Jo Dupree were only two of the former NFL players in attendance; Dupree is one of the all-time good guys, both as a player and an individual.
But alas, the star of the weekend is Miss McEntire, and she didn't disappoint. Despite two lengthy rain delays, Reba still made her on-course appearances and took pictures with every sixsome on hand. It sure doesn't hurt your eyes to look at her. Then after the drives and putts were done, Reba teamed up with Joe Nichols and played to a 6,000-person crowd, with all the money made from ticket sales going straight to the Reba Ranch House.
When you walk away from a charity event like this, you can't help but feel like you've done your part to help give back to the community. Sure, I didn't build somebody a house or feed the hungry, but I didn't just sit on my couch this weekend and do nothing. I feel better about myself, better about my community, and I can't wait to see Reba again next year.
CLICK HERE to discuss in our forum.
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