Here’s What’s HOT……Golf in the Desert!

A couple of weeks ago, I was lucky enough to participate in the Torii Hunter Project Celebrity Golf Event in Arizona.

The Torii Hunter Project is an effort to help youths in need.  Torii has brought his inspiring personality from the field, to help out off the field.  Through his four areas of focus-Sports, Community, Education, and Wellness-he is making a difference in kid’s lives, and not just by hitting game-winning home runs.  For more information, check out toriihunterproject.com.

It was a two day extravaganza!

What struck me most about the gathering was the number of former, current and Hall of Fame players that came out to support Torii’s worthy cause. 

As David Ortiz told me, “you don’t say no to Torii.” 

Along with guest host Justin Upton teammates Mike Napoli, Howie Kendrick and Scott Kazmir showed up with current players, Derrek Lee, Dustin Pedroia, Chris Young, Orlando Hudson, and B.J. Upton.  There were also some former players including Kenny Lofton, Carl Everett, as well as Hall of Famer  Vida Blue.

The outpouring of support is really a reflection of the type of person Torii Hunter is, not only as a talented ballplayer, but also as a compassionate human being.
 
He goes above and beyond for the underprivileged.

Our very own Harold Reynolds emceed the gala dinner on day one.  He also presided over the live auction.  There were more than 400 people seated in the ballroom to show their support.

The highlight of my night was emceeing the evening portion of day one, when I got to introduce an “old school band” Smooth Grooves, a Phoenix based group that warmed up the crowd.

Then a surprise performance by Carvin Winans, a five-time Grammy Award winning artist from the talented Winans family.   

To top the evening off, I had the privilege to introduce the feature performer, Grammy Award-nominated singer, Brian McKnight.

People would kill for an intimate and private concert with this multi-platinum singer.

That takes us to day two, which was a serious competition to see who would claim the trophy for the 1st Annual Torii Hunter Golf Tournament. 

Want to see how it went? Check it out right here.

Sink that putt! – Hazel Mae