YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
Last edited 1:38 p.m., Nov. 222, 2024 [Editor's note: More information has been added.]
The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, which serves as the host organization for the Price Cutter Charity Championship, has canceled the annual Celebration of Sharing event through which area children’s charities receive funding raised in the golf tournament.
A statement issued by the nonprofit Missouri Sports Hall of Fame cites “a challenging time in fundraising.” The Celebration of Sharing event had been scheduled for Nov. 19 at Highland Springs Country Club.
“An unfortunate combination of rising expenses, inflationary pressures and an unforeseen staff absence have impacted our fundraising and collection efforts at this time,” said Byron Shive, tournament executive director and CEO/executive director of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, in the statement. “We are working diligently to overcome these challenges and remain fully committed to meeting our obligations as quickly as possible.
“We appreciate the continued patience and understanding of our sponsors, vendors and the charities as we work toward fulfillment of our charitable mission.”
Shive said in an additional statement provided to Springfield Business Journal that the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is exploring all options to fulfill the fundraising obligations that are part of the PCCC.
“The first order of business will be to start making distributions to the charities as soon as funds become available which we hope will be very soon,” Shive said.
KSMU reports that 49 nonprofits are in line to receive Approximately $850,000 from this year’s tournament, though SBJ was unable to confirm those numbers by press time. Roughly $1 million was distributed to 53 children’s charities during last year’s Celebration of Sharing.
KSMU also reported on an Oct. 9 memo sent by Shive to the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame board that it obtained a copy of. The memo, in part, says “there are significant concerns about the current state of financial affairs for the tournament” and points to tournament revenue and assets of $589,000 with liabilities totaling nearly $1.9 million for a roughly $1.3 million shortfall, according to KSMU.
Asked for a copy of the memo by SBJ and to confirm the numbers reported by KSMU, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame and its board chair did not respond.
In the second statement, Shive further addressed the financials of the tournament leading up to the Celebration of Sharing.
“Simply stated, tournament revenue was less than projected, expenses were more than expected and the invoicing to donors and sponsors was delayed by the absence of a staff member due to personal reasons,” Shive said. “The MSHOF has worked diligently to bring the accounting up to date and is preparing to invoice those sponsors who previously committed their support to the PCCC tournament.”
In October, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame announced Price Cutter inked a new five-year deal to continue as PCCC title sponsor and that Springfield-based Hiland Dairy Foods Co. LLC signed on as presenting sponsor. The PCCC was held in July this year.
Rob Marsh, chief operating officer for Rogersville-based Pyramid Foods, the parent company of Price Cutter, said via email that the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame handles all aspects of the tournament, including charitable contributions.
“We all share the same goal of making this tournament a success, and I know the staff is working hard to catch up due to an unforeseen critical staff absence,” Marsh said.
An official with Hiland Dairy declined to comment.
Since its debut in 1990, the PCCC tournament at Highland Springs has raised roughly $20.5 million for local nonprofits, according to past reporting.
SBJ archives indicate participating nonprofits must “buy-in” or invest at least $5,000 to cover a variety of upfront tournament costs. The money is then refunded to the nonprofits in December, following the event, SBJ previously reported.
Charities listed on the PCCC’s website include Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks, Care to Learn, Convoy of Hope, Legal Services of Southern Missouri, the Missouri State University Foundation and Ozarks Regional YMCA.
SBJ reached out to several nonprofits that have been involved with the PCCC, but none returned requests for comment by press time.
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