SAN ANTONIO, Texas,
March 26, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --
Spectators at this week's Valero Texas Open can learn more about
The First Tee of Greater San
Antonio youth development program and John Deere's passion
for golf by visiting a tournament display sponsored by Deere.
Deere is a national corporate partner of The First Tee, a
non-profit youth organization that uses golf as a platform to teach
life and leadership skills and provide character education programs
for young people.
"We look forward to sharing our story about our program's
positive impact in the lives of youth," said Mary Carriker, executive director of The First
Tee of Greater San Antonio.
"Sponsors help us impart important life skills to young people of
the San Antonio area as well as
expose them to careers in the turf care industry."
John Deere's strong commitment to the game of golf is the
overall theme of a multimedia display that will premiere at the
Valero Texas Open and then visit seven other PGA TOUR events this
year. Carriker notes that the display at the Valero Texas Open will
be near the 17th green.
Besides The First Tee, the display showcases John Deere's
commitment to golf, which dates back to the 1930s when golf course
superintendents began relying on John Deere equipment for turf care
and maintenance.
"John Deere is a part of golf's past, present, and future," said
James M. Field, president of Deere's
Worldwide Agriculture and Turf Division, noting that the company
currently is the official equipment supplier of the PGA TOUR; the
title sponsor of a PGA TOUR event, the John Deere Classic; and a
sponsor of professional golfer Zach
Johnson.
In 2013, Deere announced a $1
million 5-year donation to The First Tee, which includes
support for The First Tee chapters such as San Antonio and the creation of "Careers on
Course" - a program introducing teens to careers in golf course
management and the science of agronomy.
The First Tee is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit youth development
organization. Since its inception in 1997, The First Tee has
introduced the game of golf and its values to more than nine
million young people in all 50 United States and four international
locations.
Later in the year, the John Deere display will visit the Shell
Houston Open (Mar. 31 – Apr. 6); the HP Byron Nelson Championship in
Dallas (May
12-18); the Principal Charity
Classic in Des Moines
(May 27-Jun. 1); the Deutsche Bank
Championship in Boston
(Aug. 27 – Sep. 1); the TOUR Championship presented by Coca
Cola in Atlanta (September 11-14); the SAS Championship in
Raleigh (Oct. 6-12) and the Charles Schwab Cup
Championship (Oct. 30-Nov. 2).
Deere & Company (NYSE: DE) is committed to the success of
customers whose work is linked to the land, providing advanced
products and services to cultivate, harvest, transform, enrich and
build upon the land to meet the world's dramatically increasing
need for food, fuel, shelter and infrastructure. For more
information, visit www.JohnDeere.com.
SOURCE Deere & Company