Open, businesses, charities reap sponsorship benefits

by Christine Ballew-Gonzales

SBJ Contributing Writer

Golf is good business, according to sponsors of the Nike Ozarks Open, now in its 10th year. And according to Jerald Andrews, executive director of the Open, it is the sponsorship of the event by area businesses that helps maintain the quality of the event, held Aug. 9-15.

This year, the presenting sponsor of the tournament is be Ramey Price Cutter. "They have provided the leadership gift for the event," Andrews said.

Brad Beattie, director of marketing for Ramey and Price Cutter Supermarkets, said the company had expressed interest in the top sponsorship position in the past. When former presenting sponsor Consumers Food & Drug announced that its chain would be going out of business, Ramey/Price Cutter was ready.

"When they announced in January that the stores would be closing, that's when we got the ball rolling," Beattie said.

Beattie said the six-figure leadership gift to the Open represents the company's largest individual contribution toward an event, but Ramey and Price Cutter Supermarkets hold corporate fund-raising events on their own throughout the year, as well. Ramey/Price Cutter Supermarkets is also the primary food sponsor of the open.

"Our employees are excited about this, and so are our corporate employees and our vendors," Beattie said. "The main thing we're excited about is seeing this money going to the children's charities. We're certainly looking at staying with it long-term. We like giving money back to our community it's a way of saying thank you for shopping at our store."

The sponsorship support of the Nike Ozarks Open is an essential cornerstone of the event, according to Andrews. "The sponsors are critical to the event," he said. "Without the sponsors, it would be impossible for us to put on the quality event that we do, as well as generate these monies for charity."

Andrews, who has been involved with the Open for four years, three as executive director, said charitable contributions over the past nine years of the tournament have exceeded $1 million. Last year $276,000 was given to area charities, marking the highest yearly sum generated in the Open's nine-year history.

Children's charities, such as Ronald McDonald House of the Ozarks, Boys and Girls Club of Springfield, the newly added Children's Miracle Network, and other children's charities, all benefit from the sponsorships the Open acquires. (See the related story on page 16.)

But sponsoring the Open has significant business benefits, as well, Andrews said.

"It's the largest sporting event held in the Ozarks each year, and it's one of the largest social events of the year," he said, facts which underscore the high degree of visibility offered by sponsoring the tournament. "While you're getting exposure, you're also helping children's charities."

Cadillac Dealers of the Ozarks President Lynn Thompson, of Thompson Pontiac-Cadillac, said the organization is now in its 10th year of sponsoring the event. "It's given us a great venue to put our product in front of 45,000 people each year," Thompson said. "It's also helped our business the awareness it adds is fabulous."

Thompson would not divulge the amount the organization pays for its sponsorship of the event, but said, "We always say that it's our most expensive day of golf each year, but from a business standpoint, it's worth it."

Alltel Communications will also sponsor the Nike Ozarks Open for the 10th time this year, according to Ray Thomas, vice president and general manager of Alltel of Missouri. Thomas said Alltel's sponsorship of the tournament has less to do with sales and more to do with customer contact.

"It's a good opportunity to say thank you to a special group of customers and give something back to the community," he said. "We believe that visibility, as well as focus on the community, is key, and this is a great way to accomplish both. It's a high-quality, well-run function, and we are certainly interested in continuing our sponsorship."

While the dollar amount Alltel spends each year for its sponsorship remains a secret, Thomas said it "represents the largest single event in Missouri that we participate in, by a large margin."

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