NRA Ed. Foundation golf classic raises $100K for scholarships, mentoring

Nation's Restaurant News, May 27, 2002 by Alan J. Liddle

Fund-raising, fine food and fun were on the menu during the 10th Annual National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation's Golf and Leadership Classic, which recently was staged along California's central coast.

Attended by 81 senior-level foodservice executives, the three-day golf tournament, dine around and silent auction was based at the Inn at Spanish Bay. This year's Golf and Leadership Classic raised more than $100,000 for NRAEF scholarships and mentoring programs, organizers reported. NRAEF president and chief executive Mary Adolf told attendees the event, since its inception, has raised more than $1 million.

Participants played a practice round at the links at Spanish Bay, a scramble tournament at Spyglass Hill golf course and an individual tournament at Pebble Beach.

Laurie Burns, senior vice president of development for Darden Restaurants, recorded the "overall low gross" score for the combined events for the second straight year. Kevan Johnston, vice president of sales for Daydots, captured first place in the men's "net" score competition, and Julie Barber, director of national accounts for Barber Foods, did likewise in the women's "net" event.

The winning team of the Spyglass Hill competition was composed of William Anton, chairman and founder, Anton Airfood Inc.; Ted J. Balestreri, chairman and chief executive, Sardine Factory Inc.; Stephen J. Caldeira, senior vice president of industry relations, Pepsi-Cola North America Foodservice Division; and Richard Wyckoff, president, refreshment services, ARAMARK Corp.

Balestreri, a former NRA chairman, chaired the 2002 Golf and Leadership Classic and presented an award in recognition of a "commitment to promoting free enterprise" to former Central Coast congressman and White House chief of staff Leon Panetta. Panetta and his wife, Sylvia, now guide the Panetta Institute on public policy at California State University Monterey Bay.

The Sardine Factory restaurant on historic Cannery Row in Monterey, which is owned by Balestreri and Bert Cutino, was the site of one of the classic's three dinner events. A second was presented in the dining room of Pebble Beach Resorts' Beach and Tennis Club, and the finale took place at the Chateau Julien Wine Estate in Carmel Valley.

A silent auction of donated gifts, trips and goods that raised $25,000 was held in conjunction with the Beach and Tennis Club dinner, as was the presentation of gag awards. Pebble Beach Resorts' executive vice president, Paul Spengler, handed out humorous mementos to selected attendees, including Host Marriott's Richard Marriott. Marriott received a child's plastic construction hard hat, complete with lantern, so that he might be safe while making midnight or early-morning practice runs on the Olympic Games' snowboarding half-pipe that was built near a residence he owns in Utah.

California Central Coast Congressman Sam Farr, co-chair of the House Travel and Tourism Caucus, was the keynote speaker for the program's educational session. And former Pittsburgh Steeler professional football player Franco Harris, now chairman of Super Bakery Inc., was the unofficial celebrity attendee, cheerfully acquiescing to requests to pose for photos with fans.

The sponsors of 2002 Golf and Leadership Classic were Baldwin Richardson Foods Co., CocaCola Fountain, Daydots, Diners Club International, Farquharson Enterprises Ltd., Nestle FoodServices Division, Pepsi-Cola North America and Rich Products Corp. The media sponsors were Nations Restaurant News and Restaurant Business Media Group, VNU.