Golf tournament supports the arts

Golf and the arts come together at the Fourth Annual Kenneth R. Tolbert Golf Tournament.

The event, 8 a.m. Nov. 14 at The Legends - East Village Orange Lake Resort in Kissimmee, supports HapCo Music Foundation, an organization that seeks to promote the arts and music education for the youth of the West Orange area.

Features at this year’s tournament

Retired professional football players will be paired with foursomes who signed up early. They will spend the entire day with the foursome. These players include Reggie Branch, Kevin House and Barry Wagner.

Different holes will feature contests and prizes to win. At one hole, the Chevy Tahoe Hole-in-One contest allows one participant who gets a hole-in-one to win a Tahoe.

Breakfast and lunch will be served, and all participants receive a T-shirt.

“We try to make it greater than the value you are paying,” said Joseph McMullen, HapCo founder.

The organization hopes to raise $15,000 through the tournament.

Why go?

McMullen founded HapCo Music Foundation in 1999 when he lived in Miami. There, the foundation focused solely on supporting marching bands.

When he moved to the West Orange area in 2002, he got involved in the community here and realized the need to extend the program beyond just marching bands and to encompass all forms of art.

He believes art is crucial for youth in multiple ways.

“The data is there,” he said. “Kids have greater self-esteem.”

Art also enables students to get involved in the community and get better grades, he said.

“Not only does it affect the kids, but it also affects the community at large,” he said.

McMullen was influenced by Kenneth R. Tolbert, the namesake for the tournament and scholarship fund. Tolbert was McMullen’s high school band director.

“I was only in band with him for three years, but he poured into my life,” McMullen said.

When McMullen got accepted at Florida A&M, Tolbert assured McMullen that he would help pay for his schooling if McMullen’s financial aid did not come through.

The event specifically benefits Art After 5, Arts in the Classroom and the Kenneth R. Tolbert Scholarship Fund.

The Art After 5 program is a partnership with St. Luke’s United Methodist Church. The after-school art classes teach visual arts on Tuesday evenings and theater arts on Thursday evenings.

McMullen hopes to expand the program to more days of the week and add more varied types of classes.

Arts in the Classroom connects art professionals to youth community programs or classrooms to teach arts of all types, from writing to music.

The scholarship fund supports students, both at grade school and collegiate levels, who want financial assistance performing in the art form of their choice.

Funds also support the Oakland Avenue Charter School art program, the Ocoee High School band program and the Garden Music School.

IF YOU GO 

Where: Orange Lake Resort, 8505 W Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway, Kissimmee

When:  8 a.m. Nov. 14

Info: Register at hapcopromo.org.

Cost: Registration is past early bird registration, but registration now costs $600 for a foursome and $150 for a single player.

Contact Jennifer Nesslar at [email protected].