Taste of the TOUR
Travelers Championship
By: Athena Perez

This year at the Travelers Championship, the PTWA teamed up with Travelers to bring food, fun, and wine to the Pro–Am participants in an effort to raise money for some very important people in the Greater Hartford area.  On Wednesday, June 24, the ladies of the TOUR hosted “Taste of the TOUR” at the tournament’s Pro-Am party. This unique event brought together TOUR players’ wine labels such as Palmer, Faldo, Weir, Player, Daly, Donald, Els, Nobilo, Norman, Goosen, and PGA TOUR Wines for a wine tasting, and both a silent and live auction.

There were many VIP’s associated with the event (actors, TOUR Players, executives), but the most important? The beneficiaries - The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp and the Greater Hartford Jaycees. The Hole in the Wall Gang camp, founded by Paul Newman in 1988, is a camp for children with cancer and other serious illnesses.  The cost to send one child to camp is approximately $2,500. The Greater Hartford Jaycees is a membership organization for men and women ages 21 through 41 with a focus on leadership development through community service. With support from fundraisers like Taste of the TOUR, the Greater Hartford Jaycees will continue to provide people with opportunities to better themselves and get the experiences they may not have had otherwise.

We are happy to report that the evening raised $30,000 for charities. The auction items included a complete flight of wine bottles autographed by the above mentioned TOUR players, a vineyard tour, a teaching session with a professional PGA TOUR player and his instructor, as well as other great items.  

“This was a great opportunity for the PGA TOUR Wives Association to introduce PGA TOUR players’ wine labels to the greater Hartford area while raising money for two incredible local organizations,” says Athena Perez, event co-chair and PTWA member.  “Our mission is to give back to the communities in which the PGA TOUR visits, where our husbands play, and the communities that become our families’ homes for part of the year. We were given this amazing platform by Travelers to host this event and we jumped at the opportunity. We consider this event a success and are so proud to have been able to be a part of such a great event.”