About Ryan Palmer
Ryan Palmer grew up in Amarillo and graduated from Amarillo High School. He has enjoyed the game of golf since childhood. He has seen success in the Nationwide Tour and is currently on the PGA Tour. Ryan and his friend Billy Slaughter founded the Ryan Palmer Foundation as a way for Ryan to implement youth golf clinics, special community golf programs, scholarship programs, educational programs, and benevolence to local youth and organizations in need. Billy Slaughter, Ryan Palmer Foundation President, approached me in July about our Special Olympic program at Advo Companies, a non-profit organization which provides residential and vocational opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities. I shared with him the activities we were currently participating in and described the opportunities for participation in local, regional, state, national and World Special Olympic games. Billy expressed an interest in the foundation supporting these activities through a donation to help with athlete expenses such as travel, uniforms and equipment. The Ryan Palmer Charity Golf Tournament was the first fundraising event held in Amarillo to benefit the foundation. Billy and I agreed that having the athletes there to meet Ryan would be a good way to illustrate where the foundations goals were impacting our community. The event was held on September 7 at Tascosa Country Club and the original plan was to have the athletes there to meet Ryan and get autographs. However, shortly after arriving, it became clear that Ryan and the other foundation members wanted the athletes as true competitors in the game of golf. He asked about their skill level and their goals for the game. He asked Tate Prescott if he thought he could show off his talent and of course Tate was more than ready to do that in front of a crowd. Ryan took each of the athletes names and called them to the driving range where he proceeded to have pictures made with the group. I can't describe to you the magnitude of this event, there were tournament golfers present and a gallery of spectators and for Ryan to have taken the time to introduce each athlete and note their accomplishments attest to his commitment to being a positive role model and inspiration for all athletes. Ryan then asked Tate Prescott, Tonya Duck and Jeremy SImpson to demonstrate to the spectators their golf ability. We were not prepared to do such an exhibit so we had no clubs but, Ryan did not care he reached into his bag and asked Tate what his favorite club was and Tate responded "a driver" Ryan thought that was a good choice. Tate was given Ryan's club to drive with and I felt an amazing respect for Ryan, because he wasn't worried about his clubs which, earn him a living, he was only focused on Tate and encouraging him to do his best. He continued this same support through all of the athletes demo shots. Upon completion, Ryan praised their ability and I think he was amazed at the skill they did possess. The other amazing thing to me was how warm and welcoming the spectators were to the athletes. They had come to possess. The other amazing thing to me was how warm and welcoming the spectators were to the athletes. They had come to see an exhibition by PGA golfer Ryan Palmer and they had the rare opportunity to see first hand how proficient our athletes can be at a sport. I think they were in awe of their accomplishments. In an e-mail I received from Ryan about the event, he said he would match their skills with a lot of players he knew. I think this event was an excellent opportunity for our community to experience our athletes at their best and I don't feel like this happens a lot. We are lucky to get to see them compete and succeed however, the majority of other individuals in the community never get to experience that pride and desire to succeed. I am thankful to Ryan Palmer and Billy Slaughter for giving our athletes the opportunity to "Shine" in such an important arena. The athletes who participated in the event are Tate Prescott, Tonya Duck, Jeremy Simpson, Collin Blankenship, Brice Vivens and Edith Parsons.
Carla Hughes, BSW
