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Justin Humphreys and Austin Graham, Vulcan Team (1)

Michael Wiggins, Sr Vice President_Project Manager, Wiggins Building Corporation

Smith Companies Team and Hole Sponsor (1)

Scaro Team

Valley Bank Team

Team Wiggins

Staff Volunteers, Dawn Calhoun and Kathy Tullock (1)

New Visions Volunteers, with Tonya Travis (Director of New Visions)

New Visions Volunteer

Lamar Adcock (Farmers Insurance) and Chase P'Pool (Alfa Insurance), both with BNI Cahaba Connections (1)

Kim Ray and Jenny Terrell at the Registration Table

Homers Team, Dee Fuller, Chuck Bishop, Kenny Brown, Greg Wendt

Golf teams ready to roll out...

Fuzzy Peters, Strategic Account Manager, Equipment Share

Eddie Harris Carole Lyons, Heather Bell-Lawing, Sarah Avery Vise, The Arc of Shelby County

Eddie Harris (Board President), Ken Loreno and Tim Hocutt

Dunns HVAC, Plumbing and Electrical (1)

Dell_Ahead Team, Jeremy Hunter(Dell, Account Executive), John Lyons (Ahead LLC, Solutions Architect ), Bray Buckley (Dell, Account Executive), Jeff Elliott (Dell, Account Executive) (2)

Carole Lyons, Director of Development and Community Relations

Carole Lyons (Director of Development and Community Relations), Jeannine Lyons (Executive Director), Jenny Terrell (Director of Children's Services) of The Arc of Shelby County (1)

Birdie Boys

AmFirst, Team, Craig Hipp, Mike Northrup, Phil Boozer, Patrick Wiginton

Altec Team

Allison Bryant, Director of Human Resources (2) 2

Alan Beck (Outreach and Engagement Specialist), DeAnna Smith (Board Treasurer), Heather Bell-Lawing (Director of Employment Services) 2

Alabama Water Utilities

A.B Henry

By EMILY SPARACINO | Special to the Reporter

PELHAM – The Arc of Shelby County is celebrating the success of its annual golf tournament, which raised between $25,000 and $30,000 this year for the nonprofit’s programs and services.

The 2024 Swinging Fore Achievement Golf Tournament drew numerous attendees and volunteers to Ballantrae Golf Club on Thursday, May 16.

“The golf tournament was a huge success and the largest we have had in the 16 years of hosting,” Director of Development and Community Relations Carole Lyons said. “This year we had 116 players from the community play. We also had over 30 sponsors, and 20 businesses and individuals who donated items for our silent auction and items for our team prizes. Our volunteers included the staff from The Arc of Shelby County, board members, individuals in the community, as well as some of the participants from our New Visions program.”

Founded in 1974, The Arc of Shelby County began as an advocacy organization to support parents of children with intellectual disabilities, according to its website. In 1988, the organization opened an early intervention program to serve children from birth to 5 years old with developmental delays. The organization launched a supported employment program in 1999 to meet the needs of adults with developmental disabilities. The nonprofit has grown from a small support group into an advocacy agency that has had direct contact with more than 1,500 children and adults with developmental disabilities and their families each year.

“The funds raised at the golf tournament will go towards the programs and services that The Arc of Shelby County provides to families and individuals with intellectual developmental delays and disabilities in Shelby County,” Lyons said. “We provide support for individuals from birth through adulthood. These funds will help over 1,500 individuals that we currently serve.”

The organization is approaching another milestone this year. On Thursday, Aug. 22, The Arc of Shelby County will host its 50th anniversary celebration at Inverness Country Club.

Sponsorship and ticket information can be found at Thearcofshelbycounty.org.

This summer, the organization’s Children’s Services will host Tales for Tots on the last Friday of each month at the Pelham office.

The Employment Services program will host a REACT “End of Summer” Bash in August for high school students.

The Community Services team will host a Lunch and Learn event on July 24 discussing qualifications and the application process for Social Security and Medicaid benefits presented by Mary Jane Dasher with the Alabama Department of Mental Health Division of Developmental Disabilities.

“As we look to the future, we are always looking for community partnerships, employment service partnerships and volunteers who would like to help in the development of The Arc of Shelby County,” Lyons said.

All events and programs can be found on The Arch of Shelby County’s website, Thearcofshelbycounty.org, or on Facebook and Instagram.

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