NFL and MLB Veterans Come Out to Support the Women's Prison Association Annual Golf Outing
The GlenArbor Golf Club in Bedford Hills, New York, with its Gary Player designed course and elegant clubhouse, served as the setting for the 4th Annual Charity Golf Outing of the Women’s Prison Association (WPA), the nation’s oldest advocacy group for women, and the first dedicated solely to assisting women who are involved in all stages of the criminal justice system. Over 100 participants were registered for a full-day of activities under a chilly late October sky. The foursomes heading out for a round of golf consisted of a mix of former professional and collegiate athletes, current and former amateur athletes, and accomplished members of the business and professional communities, all doing their part to help support a very worthwhile cause.
Top: GlenArbor Golf Club. Lower Left: Cecil Fielder and Jim Leyritz with the WPA staff. Lower Right: Georgia Lerner and Kimberly Kozlowski of the WPA welcoming guests. Photo Credit: Warren Rosenberg
Among the notables participating to support the WPA were former professional athletes Chris Carter, the NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver who played for the Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings and Miami Dolphins, Jim Leyritz, who played most of his professional career with the New York Yankees and with whom he won two World Series Championships in 1996 and 1999 and Cecil Fielder, who with his Yankees teammate, Jim Leyritz, delivered home runs that contributed to Yankees win in game 4 of the 1996 World Series. Joining them for the dinner, auction and post-golf festivities was former New York Mets manager, and Sacred Heart University Athletic Director, Bobby Valentine.
Above: Cris Carter (Left) and Jim Leyritz (Right) showing their technique at the tee-box.
Rounding out the foursomes with these professional athletes were some equally talented golfers and supporters of the WPA. Evan Markowitz, Richard Bader and Erik Hecker played along with Cecil Fielder; Dan Maduri, Alan Lewis and Bryan Hall rounded out Jim Leyritz’s foursome; and David Lamendola, Keb Byers and Peter McManus played their round with Cris Carter (pictured below).
But, perhaps as would be appropriate for an organization focused on providing support to women and their children, it wasn’t just the NFL Hall of Fame and World Series Champion male athletes whose talents carried the day. Brittany Testa, a PGA Assistant Golf Pro at Long Island’s Maidstone Club and a graduate of Clemson University’s Golf Management Program won the Women’s longest drive honors. Playing in the group with Brittany was Kristin Douglass, Director of the Strategic Client Group at Tortise Capital Advisors, a Board member with the non-profit ‘Ice Hockey in Harlem’, and an accomplished athlete in her own right having been a member of the NCAA Division I Women’s Ice Hockey team at Boston College. Rounding out that foursome as William Douglass and Elliot Grossman (pictured below).
Winning honors for the men’s longest drive was Will Douglas, closest to the pin were Wit Derby and Brian Gallagher. Following their round of golf, everyone gathered in the clubhouse to participate in a silent auction and then gather for dinner and a program that included more fund raising activities hosted by Cris Carter, Jim Leyritz and Bobby Valentine.
Above: Auction items and bidding to raise funds in support of the Women's Prison Association Below: Auctioneers Jim Leyritz and Bobby Valentine with Cris Carter looking on
Founded in 1845, the Women’s Prison Association provides services ranging from community-based programs that provide alternatives to incarceration, support for women and their families while in prison, and helping them successfully reintegrate into society after release. The association serves more than 1,500 women and 500 children each year from its central office located in lower Manhattan and from the Rikers Island, Taconic, and Bedford Hills Correctional facilities.
“At WPA, on a big scale, we don't want people to be limited forever by their worst act. If we all were judged by the worst thing we ever did, I think many of us would not be where we are today. It's not fair to do that to anyone. I want women to stop doing it to themselves.”
Georgia Lerner
The event was successful in raising over $120,000 to support the activities of the WPA.
For information on supporting the Women’s Prison Association, please contact
Diana McHugh, Director of Communications at dmchugh@wpaonline.org
