Indiana Golf End of Year Giving

As a program alum, National First Tee Scholar and First Tee coach, I am honored to write this letter in support of First Tee-Indiana and the Indiana Golf Foundation. You’ve most likely heard the saying “It takes a village to raise a child.” While I believe this is true, my version of this saying is “It took First Tee to raise me!” As a child, First Tee was a welcoming space that would eventually turn into a place where I not only improved in the game of golf, but most importantly developed meaningful relationships with my coaches and peers.

My health journey began when I was born prematurely at twenty-six weeks, weighing one pound, fifteen ounces. I had heart surgery at three weeks old and spent two months in the NICU before going home. As a result, I was born blind in my right eye and experienced ten more eye procedures throughout my childhood. Fast forward to kindergarten, and I was diagnosed with a mucoepidermoid carcinoma tumor that was present in one of my bronchial tubes. I lost one third of my right lung when the tumor was removed. After five years of clear bronchoscopies, I was declared cancer free. In seventh grade, I had another surgery called enucleation, where I received a prosthetic implant in my right eye. Following this, after being away from extracurricular activities to recover, I picked a golf club back up. First Tee turned into not only something to do for a few days in the summer, but led to a deep commitment to golf and the people became my family. I learned the fundamentals, how to practice, and started playing in tournaments on the Indiana Golf Junior Tour during my first year of high school. Throughout the years, golf developed my character and made me want to become the best I could be, both as a future collegiate athlete and a valedictorian of my high school class. Now I am on my journey of giving back to the game and the village that raised me.

Recently I was honored to speak on behalf of First Tee and the Indiana Golf Foundation to help spread awareness at the kick off of their Capital Campaign to build a new homesite for Indiana Golf. Their new headquarters (the Pete and Alice Dye Indiana Golf Center) will be the home of golf in Indiana, supporting Hoosier golfers of all ages and ability. What is also exciting for me as a First Tee and Junior Program alum is to know the campaign goes beyond the building and will support First Tee program locations and provide scholarships to our kids and teens for years to come. First and foremost, we need your annual support but we would also ask that you consider an additional gift to the capital campaign this year. A campaign like this only comes around once in a generation and I am proud to help use my voice and passion to generate excitement for this opportunity.

Without your generous support, these experiences and scholarships would not happen for someone like me. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for your continuous support and for being part of the village to raise children and expose them to the game of golf. Let us keep growing the game together!

Respectfully yours,

Esther Etherington

First Tee-Indiana Alumna