How It All Got Started…
“I wanted to bring this Nashville band to Charlotte".” - Darin
It started in 2018 (well actually 2017)…
Funny how you start out doing one thing, and then wind up with something else! That is what happened in 2018.
In December 2017, I surprised my wife by flying the two of us to Nashville for her birthday. After a nice dinner, we took in the music scene on Broadway and ended up spending most of our time being entertained by The Flying Buffaloes at The Stage. I was so impressed with this band, that I stayed in touch and tried to find a way for them to come play in Charlotte, NC.
In this same year, Flying Buffaloes released their Loaded & Rollin’ album.
Fast forward to September 2018. I arranged a meeting with our club’s Assistant General Manager to find an available date for our ballroom the following Spring. Not knowing how this would work out, I arrived a few minutes early to our meeting so I dropped into our Golf Pro Shop to say "hello” as I tend to do. I began chatting with our Director of Golf when it dawned on me that Help A Hero charity was coming up and this concert I was planning could help raise money for this great cause. I then asked… “Hey Kevin, what do we have coming up in November around Veteran’s Day?” He reminded me of our annual Turkey Trot Golf Tournament. I asked Kevin if he would be willing to allow me to sponsor this event and raise funds for Help A Hero and he agreed. I replied “thank you, now hold that thought, I’ll be back.”
Steve showed up with his appointment book for 2019 thinking that we would be looking at dates in the Spring. When I asked him if the ballroom would be open on November 17th, Steve had to go back to retrieve the 2018 appointment book and later confirmed that the ballroom was available. I replied “hold that and let me make a phone call.”
I called up the drummer of The Flying Buffaloes. He answered, so I started “Danny, you know I have been wanting to bring you guys to Charlotte. Well, I’m sitting down with someone looking at the calendar. Is your band available to come to Charlotte and play at my club on November 17th?” Danny confirmed the band’s availability, so I said “hold that date, I’ll call you right back.”
“Why don’t you have your own golf tournament?”
— Kevin Reardon, PGA Golf Director at Providence Country Club
That folks is how it all began. After receiving great feedback and support from Providence Country Club, our membership and sponsors, our focus quickly shifted to saluting our veterans and giving back to help them advance their education. The following year (2019) we held our 1st Annual Veterans Charity Classic Golf Tournament followed by a live band (keeping with how this all started) and quadrupled our fundraising from the year before!
By the way in case you don’t know me, I am also a veteran and was able to pay for my advanced education as a result of my military service. Thank you for your contributions and participation.