The Toro Co., a preferred supplier of golf course maintenance and irrigation equipment for The First Tee, donated a Toro Groundsmaster 3500D mower to The First Tee of The Children's Course in Gladstone, Ore. The equipment donation is valued at more $23,000. For the fourth straight year Toro has donated golf maintenance equipment to a Chapter of The First Tee.
"This is a great addition to the course because one of our goals is to enhance the overall experience for the kids," said Dennis Schrag, executive director of The First Tee of The Children's Course. "The new Toro equipment will give us the capability to improve the quality of our facility and practice area for the young people and public who frequent our course."
The First Tee provided Toro with a list of nominees from each of their seven regions, and with input from Western Equipment, the local Toro distributor in Washington, The First Tee of The Children's Course was selected to receive this donation. The facility consists of a nine-hole par-three golf course, covered range, and practice area for putting and chipping. Participants receive free access to the course after completion of each level of The First Tee Life Skills Experience for the remainder of the calendar year.
"Toro is proud to support The First Tee by providing a product donation that meets the needs of the course and provides students with high quality playing conditions," said Stacy Bogart, Director of the Toro Giving Program.
Toro became a preferred supplier of The First Tee in 1998 and provides products and services to The First Tee Chapters at a reduced rate. In addition, Toro will host 50 participants from The First Tee Chapters at Walt Disney World Resort for the first annual Future Leaders Forum, to take place November 1-4 in conjunction with the Children's Miracle Network Classic. The Future Leaders Forum is a three-day immersion in the sport, business and science of golf. The Toro Company, Walt Disney World Resort and The First Tee joined forces to help prepare high school students for college and the future.
