Innova was honored to once again be part of the St. Jude Disc Golf Charity Invitational. Now in its second year, the event has generated more than $400,000 for the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital through generous contributions from the disc golf community.
Founded by the late entertainer Danny Thomas, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital opened in 1962 with the purpose of finding cures and saving children with cancer and other catastrophic illnesses. Since that time, St. Jude has emerged as the world’s premier pediatric cancer research and treatment center.
Innova is proud of everyone who participated in the fundraising efforts this year, and the impact those efforts will have in the lives of so many children and their families. The total fundraising amount has climbed to nearly $200,000 and we are not done yet! Fundraising efforts will continue through June 30th. If you are able to contribute please be sure to visit the St. Jude Disc Golf Charity Invitational event page .
2015 Amateur World Champion Anthony Barela in Action at St. Jude – Courtesy of the PDGA
We are especially proud of our Innova team members who contributed to St. Jude both on and off the course. For the second year in row, the fundraising team led by Paul McBeth and Nate Sexton posted the St. Jude’s highest team fundraising total. This year Team SexyBeast raised an impressive $21,518. We commend their efforts which spanned many months prior to the tournament weekend.
Nate Sexton pushed especially hard this year. And as a result, Sexton contributed the highest individual fundraising total at $9026. St. Jude organizers introduced an Elephant Award to recognize both the highest team and individual fundraising totals. Congratulations, Nate!
Paul McBeth also put together a remarkable fundraising campaign. McBeth’s individual total came in at $5775. McBeth did not compete in the St. Jude tournament itself, choosing instead to rest and recharge before heading to Nokia, Finland for this week’s European Open . The EO is the third stop on the Disc Golf World Tour , where McBeth will look to maintain his number one ranking with just three events remaining.
There were many other great tournaments held along with St. Jude. Congratulations to the following Team Innova members on their outstanding performances:
Joe Rovere – 303 Open, 1st Place Open
Kona Panis – 303 Open, 1st Place Advanced Women
Jim Oates – St. Jude Charity Invitational, 1st Place Grandmasters
George Smith – Des Moines Challenge, 1st Place Masters
Des Reading – Des Moines Challenge, 1st Place Masters Women
Ray Hernandez – The Lynx, 1st Place Advanced
Kaylee Campbell – AJ Open, 1st Place Open Women
Melynda Apton – Great Chili Cookout, 1st Place Open Women
Kyle Crabtree – Lake and Sea Open, 1st Place Open
Debbie Scott – Mountain Disc Golf Experience, 1st Place Open Women
Dean Tannock – Rocket City Blast, 1st Place Masters
Jason Butina – TeeBoxx Open, 1st Place Advanced
Stan Hubbard – Fairgrounds Fling 50, 1st Place Grandmasters
In addition to the European Open this upcoming weekend, many eyes will also be on the action at the 2016 PDGA United States Amateur Disc Golf Championship. Defending US Champion Anthony Barela has since turned pro, which opens the door for the 2015 runner up, Izak “iMac” McDonald. McDonald finished second to Barela at both the US and World Championships last year, so he is no doubt licking his chops for this weekend’s action. We wish all of those competitors the best this weekend!
See you on the course!
