PIKEVILLE, KY. (Ocotber 16, 2007) - Twenty-three teams participated in the first-ever WestCare Charity Golf Outing hosted by the East Kentucky Miners. The charity golf event – held on Friday, Oct. 12 at picturesque StoneCrest Golf Course in Prestonsburg – helped to raise around $8,000 that will be donated to WestCare of Pikeville. The Pikeville facility is an emergency/homeless shelter. All proceeds from the recent charity golf event will go to WestCare of Pikeville. The East Kentucky Miners professional basketball organization was a catalyst in the debut golf scramble and wants to make it an annual event.
A four-person team from Wal-Mart of Paintsville finished first in the inaugural WestCare charity golf event. Wal-Mart Stores fielded several teams.
East Kentucky Coach Kevin Keathley, along with Brian Levy and Barb Johnson, members of the Miners sales and marketing department, were instrumental in the preparation of the charity event. Various members of the Miners organization – including five members of the Diamond Girls dance team – volunteered for the event.
Miners co-owners Demetrius Ford and Jay Fiedler joined Levy and Nathan Burrell to form one of the golf scramble's foursomes.
"When we first brought the Miners to East Kentucky, Jay (Fiedler) and I made a commitment to do all we could to give back to the community," said Ford, Miners co-owner and President. "This charity golf tournament is the first of many events we will sponsor in an effort to improve the quality of life here in Eastern Kentucky. The WestCare Emergency Shelter has been a Godsend to many people in the region and is more than deserving of the support we could offer through this event. We've been told that the money we helped raise will go to buy the shelter a new kitchen, and I will make it a point to be present the day the first meal is served.
"Wal-Mart and SouthEast Telephone did an almost impossible job in assisting us to put this event on with less than three weeks to prepare.There's nothing more gratifying than working alongside dedicated, passionate people, all working to help other people."
Wal-Mart of Pikeville, Southeast Telephone and Appalachian Wireless also played key roles in the charity golf outing. Pikeville Wal-Mart’s Tim Burke and Sheila Boyd and Southeast Telephone’s Candi Gilley helped to make the event a success. The Pikeville Wal-Mart donated several prizes.
In October 2004, WestCare incorporated as a nonprofit in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. WestCare provides substance abuse treatment services in eastern and central Kentucky.
WestCare opened a residential substance abuse treatment facility in August of 2005. This facility is licensed for 72 clients. Fully funded, the WestCare project in Pike County increased residential bed availability by over 77 percent in Eastern Kentucky. WestCare offers the following services at the facility: Assessments and Referrals; Residential Substance Abuse Treatment; Individual and Group Counseling; Relapse Prevention Education; Substance Abuse Education and Prevention; Anger Management Classes; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Classes and Parenting Classes.
The East Kentucky Miners professional basketball organization continues to stay involved in communities throughout Eastern Kentucky.
ONLINE:
www.westcare.com