Next week someone in Central Arkansas will win a four-day golf trip to Pebble Beach.
The same afternoon, another someone could win a three-year-lease on a new Lexus from Parker Lexus.
But Hank Kelley says the most exciting thing to him about the Arkansas State Police Foundation (ASPF) Golf Outing -- on Oct. 4 at Pleasant Valley Country Club -- is the chance to introduce more people to the work the foundation does to support the Arkansas State Police (ASP).
"Our state troopers get the hard jobs," he says, his voice full of respect. "Whether it's protecting the governor, protecting the roads or protecting other people, they are a vital part of the order that allows us to walk the streets every day. So, I'm most excited about bringing in more people to support them."
Kelley is chief executive officer, executive broker and partner at Kelley Commercial Partners and co-chair of the event. He says many of the golf outing's participants are unfamiliar with the foundation's work for the state police. "By the end of the event, we hope to increase awareness. Then, we're hopeful there will be gifting in the future from more people who want to help."
Denny Ferra is chairing the event with Kelley. Ferra says he has been an active volunteer for the foundation for about seven years, being recruited for the board shortly after one of his best friends, Col. Bill Bryant, was appointed head of Arkansas State Police by Gov. Asa Hutchinson. Kelley is a new foundation volunteer, recruited last year by Ferra.
"Denny said, 'I'll let you ease into things,' and then asked if I would help organize this golf tournament," Kelley laughs. "So, I'm 'easing in' pretty quickly!"
Ferra says people are especially responsive to his, Kelley's and other golf committee volunteers' recruits once they understand it benefits the law enforcement organization. "There really is a lot of support for our state police," Ferra says. "It's tremendous, and it's across the state."
FOUR-PERSON SCRAMBLE
The golf outing will have a 1 p.m. shotgun start following lunch. It is a four-person scramble with 45 teams (at $1,200 each) playing Pleasant Valley's 27 holes. Kelley says everyone is looking forward to beautiful, cooler October weather for a fun afternoon on the green. "It's golf, but it's golf with a purpose," he says.
This is the first Arkansas State Police Foundation golf event in Central Arkansas. It was planned for 2020, but the pandemic postponed those plans. Kelley says when he came on, a lot of work had already been done but needed to be reconfigured for a pandemic-safe event. Besides people feeling safe, the co-chairmen say they want the golfers and volunteers at the outing to feel they're part of something special.
"We want to make this an annual event," Kelley says, explaining that because the golf event is the first for the foundation in this area, they've been working to make it stand apart. "The first year is the hardest, but the more people enjoy and remember it, the easier the ask will be next year when we approach supporters again."
For example, they're eschewing the traditional sponsor goodie bags, instead giving participants each a $75 gift certificate to spend as they please in the club's pro shop.
Another part of elevating the event above typical golf events is the involvement of title sponsor Parker Lexus. "Lexus gives every dealership a four-day, three-round golf trip to Pebble Beach to donate to a local nonprofit as part of their Lexus Champions for Charity tournament," Ferra says. "Thanks to Dave Parker, who is a member of our board, they gave that package to us."
$100 RAFFLE TICKETS
Other key sponsors include Centennial Bank, which is providing lunch; Golden Eagle, which is providing adult beverages; and NEA Signs, which is donating the event's signs.
Ferra, Kelley and more than a dozen other committee members have been signing up teams and selling $100 raffle tickets for the Pebble Beach experience. The winner, drawn and announced at the Oct. 4 outing, then goes to Pebble Beach to play in a Lexus tournament for a chance at a portion of a $100,000 charity purse. Although the winner does not have to be present, Kelley and Ferra confess they are hoping someone at the event wins the trip to add to the event's excitement and positive energy.
The other part of Parker Lexus' donation package is the Hole-In-One competition.The first golfer to score a successful hole in one on one of two designated holes on the course will win a three-year lease on a new Lexus. "A hole-in-one is always a long shot," Ferra says, "but we'll have roughly 180 chances at it. That would be so exciting to see."
The nascent event will benefit a similarly new beneficiary: Arkansas State Police Foundation's Scholarship Fund. "Randy and Betty Hedge of Paragould had given us an initial gift of $10,000 in March 2020 to start the scholarship," Ferra explains. "They wanted to start helping the troopers' families that are going to college. Today, we're pushing a quarter million dollars given to the fund. People care about these kids."
FOUR-YEAR SCHOLARSHIPS
The first scholarship recipients will be announced at the foundation's annual dinner at the Governor's Mansion on Oct. 21. Ferra says the number and amount of the first scholarships are being finalized, but they will be four-year scholarships to post-secondary institutions of the recipients' choice. Recipients will be high school seniors with a parent who works for Arkansas State Police and actively participates in foundation activities.
The foundation, which is a separate organization from the Arkansas State Police and the Arkansas State Police Association (ASPA), is chaired by Frank Guinn of Paragould. Besides the scholarships, the foundation raises money for other projects. Its Hearts for Heroes fund helps state police employees' families financially in times of hardship, such as when a trooper has been severely injured on the job or has had a home destroyed by fire.
The Arkansas State Police Foundation also invests heavily in state police training. In cooperation with Camp Robinson in North Little Rock and additional state funds from the governor, the foundation built a 3-mile Precision Driving Track at Camp Robinson for state police to train and practice the dangerous maneuvers they must master to keep Arkansas highways safe.
Kelley says Ferra recruited him in part by sharing stirring stories of state troopers' heroism and service to Arkansans and the good that the foundation does.
Ferra says that although it has increased in recent years, a state trooper's starting salary is only $42,000. "That sounds like a lot, but when you think what they do for us as citizens -- I know this sounds corny -- but what they do for citizens of Arkansas and across the country is just amazing," he says. "The old adage, 'We run from danger, they run to danger,' to me, that says it all. Everything they go through, what they put up with, they deserve our support."