Hunter to join PDCCC tourney
Published 10:28 pm Wednesday, August 31, 2016
The Paul D. Camp Community College Foundation will feature a special local guest at its Sept. 15 golf fundraiser.
The 2006 Sleepy Hole Amateur Champion and first two-time USCAA National Champion Benford “Ben” Hunter, a native of Suffolk, will join the event. His team will play to help raise money for PDCCC’s student scholarships and educational support for the foundation.
“Our grants coordinator had a connection with Mr. Hunter, and we thought it would be a wonderful draw for participants this year,” said Dr. Renee Felts, vice president for institutional advancement and executive director of the foundation.
“We want to raise as much as we can to help our students have the resources they need to pursue their education and to offer them quality programs as well.”
Having played golf since the age of 3, Hunter was a four-time First Team All-District and Regional Honoree at Lakeland High School. He received a full-time golf scholarship to Jackson State University in Jackson, Miss. He eventually returned home and attended The Apprentice School at Newport News Shipbuilding, where he graduated.
While serving as captain of the golf team, he set records and contributed to the receipt of prestigious titles that the school had previously not attained. He is currently employed at the Newport News Shipbuilding as a crane rigger/operator.
“I believe in helping people and creating opportunities for others,” Hunter said of his desire to participate in the tourney.
Although his ultimate goal is to become a PGA Tour player, Hunter wants to use his recognition to show the youth in the community they have the option to be successful, rather than choosing life on the streets. He is currently creating a youth golf program.
“I envision coaching collegiate golf one day in order to push student athletes in the right direction through college and beyond,” he said. “I want to be an ambassador for the game of golf in Hampton Roads and use that opportunity to be the young face with which the youth can connect.”
The PDCCC Foundation’s 13th Annual Golf Tournament gets under way with a shotgun start at 1 p.m., Sept. 15, at Sleepy Hole Golf Course in Suffolk. Registration will begin at 11:30 a.m. A boxed dinner will be available during the awards announcements at approximately 5:30 p.m.
Prizes will be awarded for superlative feats, as well as first place winners in each of three flights. A rain date has been set for Thursday, Sept. 22.
The cost is $75 per person, which includes golf cart rental, dinner and incentives. For more information, visit www.pdc.edu/golf. Sponsorship packages begin at $350.