NFL Pro Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor and Ottis Anderson of the NY Giants are confirmed participants in the Harry Carson Celebrity Golf Classic May 19-20, The School Foundation announced.
Lawrence Taylor, the former New York Giants legendary linebacker, was an All American at North Carolina and first round draft choice of the New York Giants in the 1981 draft. Taylor was the only defensive player in NFL history to be consensus Player of the Year. He earned First Team All Pro honors in each of his first nine years as a pro, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1999. Taylor led the Giants to Super Bowl titles in 1986 and 1990, and played in 10 Pro Bowls (1981-1990).
Ottis Anderson, retired NY Giants highly honored running back, began piling up honors as an All American at the University of Miami. He held the Miami All-Time Rushing Record for 24 years (1978-2002). As a pro Anderson was awarded NFL Rookie of the Year, NFL Most Valuable Player, NY Giants Team MVP, along with playing on two NY Giant Super Bowl Championship teams (1987, 1991) earning Super Bowl MVP in 1991.
The Harry Carson Celebrity Golf Classic, presented by BB&T and slated for the Country Club of South Carolina, will be the first-ever celebrity golf event in the Pee Dee, and the first to honor Carson, a businessman, nine-time Pro Bowl participant and graduate of Florence schools. Money raised will go to The School Foundation which supports Florence School District 1 schools and is now South Carolina’s largest private foundation supporting K-12 public education.
The Harry Carson Celebrity Golf Classic is a private event that will feature sports celebrities and corporate-scheduled guests who will play at the Country Club of South Carolina, former host of the Nike Tournament. The event begins Friday evening with a reception for the celebrities and major sponsors, followed by a pairings party for all players and a guest. Saturday begins with a breakfast at the Country Club of South Carolina, followed by tee off at 9:30 a.m. and an awards ceremony at 2:30 p.m.
Founded in 2000, The School Foundation raises private contributions to support educational excellence in Florence School District 1. The School Foundation Board is composed of education, civic and business leaders. Public schools educate more than 90% of all children in Florence County, more than 14,000 in School District 1 alone. The School Foundation’s first grant funded a pilot reading program for all first graders in three elementary schools. Results of that program were so encouraging that the district rolled the program out to all its elementary schools. In 2006 the Foundation has budgeted $75,000 for grants to the district. The Foundation gives grants of $10,000 or more. These funds do not go toward normal district operating expenses, but instead target student academics and citizenship, teacher quality, school safety and district leadership.
For information about the Foundation or the Harry Carson Celebrity Golf Classic presented by BB&T, visit the foundation website at www.theschoolfoundation.org or call the Foundation at 662-9996.
Donations supporting Florence School District 1 can be made online at the foundation's Web site, www.theschoolfoundation.org, or by mailing to the foundation, 320 W. Cheves Street, Suite 171, Florence, SC 29501. For more information, call (843) 662-9996.
