TELLICO VILLAGE, Tenn. — On June 3, the TVLGA 18 hosted a tournament for the residents of Tellico Village to participate in at Tanasi Golf Course. 

The event was a fundraiser organized by Kelly Cox to help raise money for the Tennessee Special Olympics.

Different people from the Tennessee Special Olympics showed up to show gratitude for those who participated in the event. … One of those people was Mark Woods and his son Bryant.


Woods expressed tons of thankfulness for Tanasi and Tellico Village for hosting.

“This is great,” Woods said about the golf outing. “This is the first time I have been a part of this.

"It is the first time that our region has done this.”

'THESE KIDS (AND ADULTS) HAVE ABILITIES'

Woods also wanted to raise awareness to everyone about those who are involved with the Tennessee Special Olympics.

“These kids, or adults in a lot of cases, have abilities," he said. "They want the world (and their) friends and family to know that they have abilities and that they are special.

"They don’t want to be treated differently and want everyone to know that they still matter.”

Before the golfing began during the early June morning, the president of the Tennessee Special Olympics Adam Germek spoke to the crowd about how the raised money would help the organization.

“The Special Olympics of Tennessee serves about 18,000 athletes which is where the money goes," Germek said. "This includes uniforms, travel cost, training and sports equipment.”

The money that the Tellico Village golfers donated specifically went to the Special Olympic athletes who are local to the area. This includes Woods and his son Bryant who are a part of the Loudon group known as Area 22.

HOW DONATIONS WERE MADE

How exactly were donations made? Organizer Cox laid out different methods regarding how the Tellico Village golfers could give to this special cause.

A ticket raffle was held for two prizes that golfers could win: A golf bag and a gift basket.

“It was $5 for one ticket in the raffle and $20 for five tickets,” Cox explained.

There were also some golf cheats that the tournament participants could purchase prior to their round.

Cox added: “For $20, golfers get one mulligan, one sand toss, one free toss and a free putt that is 'inside the leather.'”

A donation box was also left out at the Tanasi Golf Course Clubhouse for anything extra the Tellico Village golfers wanted to give to the Tennessee Special Olympics.

Cox and the Tennessee Special Olympics, as well as others who helped out with the event, were to reconvene on June 24 to tally up the total amount of money raised for the Special Olympics' athletes of the area.

To learn more about the Tennessee Special Olympics, you can visit specialolympicstn.org.

There you can learn more about the different people, careers, sports and everything that happens within this state-wide organization.