Long before the first golfer or celebrity arrived at beautiful Chenal Valley Country Club in Little Rock for the Pat Summerall Golf Classic, presented by the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, everything was in place.
The two courses, Bear Den and Founders, were perfect, as usual.
Tom Mitchell and Terri Johnson had the prizes organized and registration was ready to roll as quickly as possible.
Mitchell, who is the well-respected pastor of Chenal Valley Baptist Church and a member of the HOF board, and Johnson, the executive director of the HOF, are multitaskers.
Mitchell approaches this annual golf tournament like it was a family reunion.
It took place just a day after the University of Arkansas, Arkansas State and Ouachita Baptist sponsored a satellite football camp at Little Rock's War Memorial Stadium, where it seemed every college in the state was well-represented, leading to the blending of athletes and coaches from high schools and colleges all over the state.
The Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame recognizes accomplishments, not schools.
Last fall, the undefeated 1970 ASU football team was honored by the Hall of Fame in Jonesboro. Nelson Catalina, a board member and Hall of Famer, was the driving force behind that event.
This fall, a couple of Joe Foley-coached national championship teams from Arkansas Tech will be honored in Russellville. Lynn Hardin has been leading the charge for this event.
The Hall of Fame is a statewide organization with open membership and many of the inductees were on hand Monday to serve as celebrities, although most of those folks would be the last people to call themselves a celebrity.
Or as Joe Kleine put it, "I don't know anyone who considers me a celebrity, especially me."
Yet, they came to serve.
Larry Snyder, one of the all-time great jockeys in America who made Oaklawn Park his home track, was there. Henry Hawk, Bobby Tiner, Stan Lee, Steve Campbell, David Bazzel and many others came for the fun in the sun day.
Tommy Smith, a radio show host in Little Rock for more than 30 years, came for the festivities, leaving his clubs at home.
A day when stories are shared, some like wine, growing fine with time, and friendships regained.
Sponsors like Deltic Timber and Wilson Sporting Goods were thanked.
Wilson came on board a few years ago when the late great John Bailey became a member of the board of the Hall of Fame. John was a long-time valued employee of Wilson.
Most in Bailey's position were required to live in Chicago, but John was so valued he was allowed to live in Conway.
John passed away last year, but Wilson kept his legacy alive with its generosity.
"This is not your typical Monday tournament," said Richard Johnson, a president of Simmons Bank, and the first vice president of the Hall of Fame. "There are a lot of great tournaments in this state, but none give away anywhere close to as many prizes."
In addition to Wilson's contributions, most colleges have gift packages as well.
Not one to spend too much time on food, it would be remiss to not mention Chenal served up its summer trifecta of chicken salad, egg salad and pimento cheese (award winners in the opinion of yours truly), along with other great sandwich items.
The tournament is competitive, needless to say. You can't put that many golfers on a course and not expect them to try to win a Wilson Pro Staff travel bag. Even the last-place teams of the two flights get a Wilson gift -- a tennis racket.
It was another great, well-run family reunion, just as expected from Mitchell, Johnson and the Hall of Fame.
Sports on 06/07/2016