Department of Parks
Pine Mountain First Tee Chapter Receives National Recognition

PINEVILLE, Ky. – The First Tee program at Pine Mountain State Resort Park has received national recognition for its efforts to provide golf and character education to youths.

The First Tee program is an initiative dedicated to providing young people of all backgrounds an opportunity to develop through golf and character education. The First Tee program emphasizes nine core values that are connected with the game of golf. They are: honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, courtesy, and judgment.

There are four First Tee chapters in Kentucky.

The Pine Mountain Chapter was honored March 1 in San Jose, Calif., with an Ace ZONE Award – standing for Zeroing in On Network Excellence. The Pine Mountain chapter had the highest point total of all 206 chapters across the country and four foreign countries.

The award is given for efficient operations, programming and participant involvement. The chapter, now in its eighth year, serves about 250 youths during the summer at the state park at Pineville. The children are from Bell, Harlan, Whitley and Knox counties in Kentucky and Claiborne County, Tenn., and Lee County, Virginia.

“This award is a great tribute to the volunteers who work with these kids,” said Jerry Shoffner, the PGA professional at Wasioto Winds Golf Course at Pine Mountain. “Our biggest thrill is to be able to provide a positive influence in the lives of these young people from our community.”

Pine Mountain was also honored when one of five World Golf Foundation Chairman’s Awards went to Jan Gann, who is a seasonal employee at Wasioto Winds and is the administrator for The First Tee chapter. The award is given for dedication and work for the local chapter and the national First Tee organization.

“I was honored to receive this award for both myself and the staff of The First Tee Pine Mountain.  Even though this award is given to an individual it represents the cooperative effort of everyone in the organization,” said Gann, a volunteer since 2001. She is a retired Kentucky Utilities employee who lives in Pineville with her husband Kenny.

For more information about The First Tee program, visit www.thefirsttee.org For information about Kentucky State Parks and golf, visit www.parks.ky.gov

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The Kentucky State Park System is composed of 52 state parks plus an interstate park shared with Virginia. The Department of Parks, an agency of the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, operates 17 resort parks with lodges -- more than any other state. For more information on Kentucky parks, visit our Web site at http://www.parks.ky.gov