Price Cutter Charity Championship gives back

However, the Nationwide Tour tournament stop’s most important date might be Nov. 30, when about 40 area charitable organizations receive donations raised from the annual event.

According to PCCC Executive Director Jerald Andrews, the point of the tournament is to help charities, specifically those that focus on youngsters.

“All of our charities relate to children in someway,” he said. “There are so many problems our society has created for kids.”

Last year’s tournament grossed $1.7 million, $622,000 of which was given to local charities in November 2004.

“We sure hope to give away somewhere between $600,000 and $700,000 (this year),” Andrews said.

A $40,000 home for Habitat for Humanity also is coming from PCCC funds for the second year.

Susan Miles, director of Champion Athletes of the Ozarks and a PCCC volunteer for 14 years, said her group benefits greatly from the tournament every year.

“The tournament is very important to our organization,” Miles said of her group, which received $9,000 last year to help 500 members in seven counties.

However, the benefits are not just monetary.

She and many other charity employees and beneficiaries act as PCCC volunteers, helping in food tents, with water dispersal, with child care and scoring, among other activities. Between 1,100 and 1,200 people volunteered this year.

“Financially, it’s very important because it lets us expand the programs we have,” Miles said. “But, it’s also very important for our (members) because it teaches them job skills.”

About 400 sponsors also were involved, some donating more than $100,000. The money goes into a central fund and is divided up based on how long a charity has been with the PCCC and how involved it is with volunteering efforts.

Andrews said 35,000 to 40,000 people attend the PCCC, with 80 percent coming from within a 60-mile radius of Springfield.

Susan Wade, public relations manager of the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the tournament has a big economic impact for the area. She estimates that many people attending the tournament, especially those who travel from out of town, spend $100 to $150 a day at local businesses.

“They stay in our hotels and eat in our restaurants,” Wade said.

PCCC has a contract with Quality Inn to offer reduced-rate rooms to the 156 players, but some area families have let players stay at their houses for free, according to Todd Yearack, PCCC vice president of operations.

Yearack said the tournament, along with charities such as the United Way, contribute to the Ozarks in a big way.

“There’s tons of other efforts out there, but I think the Price Cutter Charity Championship demonstrates how much this community values charities,” he said.