PGA REACH New England is excited to continue its spotlight series dedicated to sharing the goodwill and support of local communities by our PGA Professionals. Chipping In trumpets the story of individual PGA Professionals and his or her efforts to differentiate their facility and personal PGA Brand within the community. This month, we share the story of Ben Alexander, PGA of The Oaks Golf Links.
The Oaks Golf Links has continued to be an innovative, high-end, public facility since it was founded in 2004. Most recently, The Oaks invested in 9 heated Toptracer bays that allows the facility to host additional charitable events, including PGA HOPE.
What is the name of the organization or program you would like to highlight?
PGA HOPE
How long have you been active with your charitable organization?
3 Years
What is the most rewarding thing about giving back to the community?
We strive to provide a welcoming facility where all can be comfortable. When we see customers continue to return with family and friends, we know that we have succeeded in providing a safe haven for these individuals. There is nothing more rewarding than witnessing others in our community choose our golf course as a place to spend their free time. This is especially true with our members from PGA HOPE.
What other organizations do you support?
We support, and organize events for, endless charitable events. A few include suicide awareness and prevention, supporting local food pantries, cancer and autism research, and many many more.
How has giving back to the community helped to raise awareness of your facility?
We truly feel that our customers can see that we genuinely care about their cause(s). This leads to an extremely high return rate for these charitable events, and it is impossible to quantify the word-of-mouth marketing we gain from these high-quality relationships and friendships we have cultivated.
How do you determine which charities to support?
The unfortunate truth is that we can’t fully support every single request that we receive, so there is some choosing. We have a relatively simple process of supporting (1) member requests, (2) any event that has been a returning customer and hosts at our golf course, and (3) extremely local requests. We strive to support our home city of Somersworth, NH and the bordering cities/towns the best we can.
Any recommendations on how someone can start to support their community?
Get involved, and show these people and organizations that you care. Check in with each organization regularly throughout the year (not just when the event is approaching) and you will soon find a growing list of strong supporters for your facility!