CHARITY CLASSIC IMPACTS UPSTATE S.C. ECONOMY WHILE RAISING FUNDS FOR CHARITY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts:
Elizabeth J. Baker
Erwin-Penland
864-672-3875
elizabeth.baker@erwinpenland.com
BI-LO CHARITY CLASSIC GOLF TOURNAMENT SUBSTANTIALLY IMPACTS UPSTATE ECONOMY WHILE RAISING FUNDS FOR CHARITIES
Charity Classic Brings More Than 1,200 Golfers and Estimated $2.5 Million to Upstate
GREENVILLE, S.C. (May 4, 2010) — While the BI-LO Charity Classic Golf Tournament, taking place in Greenville June 6-7, is raising funds for hundreds of charities across the Southeast, it is also pumping an estimated $2.5 million into the Upstate area’s economy.
Though the non-profit organizations in South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia that receive funding from the tournament are the major beneficiaries, the tournament also has a financial impact on the Upstate by hosting more than 1,200 golfers and their guests the weekend of the tournament. Participants will make use of regional airports, dine in local restaurants, stay in area hotels and shop in local stores and boutiques. Visitors will also have the chance to experience the best of the Upstate, particularly its world-renowned golf courses, which could lead to return trips to the area.
Along with the revenue acquired by the area’s hotels, restaurants and other tourism-focused businesses, the BI-LO Charity Classic will also impact Upstate vendors that help make the nation’s largest one-day golf tournament possible. For example, one of the area’s premier caterers, the Thornblade Club, will be serving more than 3,800 meals throughout the weekend, Aggreko, a local company that offers heating and air solutions that are fume, flame and moisture-free, is supplying air conditioning for the 45,000 square-foot tent in which all tournament festivities are held and a local branch of Agilysys, a leading provider of innovative IT solutions, is recording all sales transactions throughout the event.
“In addition to the charitable dollars the BI-LO Charity Golf Tournament provides local non-profit organizations, we are pleased that we can also bolster the local economy a little. It is a win for the Upstate in several ways,” said Carol Browning, executive director of BI-LO Charities.
To sign up for the BI-LO Charity Classic or for more information about the tournament and the non-profit organizations it supports, please call 864-286-5895 or visit www.bi-locharities.org.
About the BI-LO Charity Classic
The BI-LO Charity Classic began in 1983 as a fundraiser for Meals on Wheels and has grown to be the largest one-day charity golf tournament in the country. During the past 26 years the tournament has raised more than $48 million to support hundreds of charities throughout BI-LO’s four-state operating area of South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia. Funds from the Charity Classic go toward supporting organizations that focus on children’s needs, education and hunger relief.
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