GPE Golf Classic to benefit special needs children on Oct. 17
Published 4:01 pm Wednesday, October 3, 2018
After becoming Mayor of Selma in 2009, George Evans started his own charity Golf Classic.
The ninth annual GPE Golf Classic will be held on Oct. 17 at the Valley Grande Golf Course.
The tournament began during Evans’ first term as mayor of the Queen City. He was Selma mayor from 2009-2016. His bid for a third term ended in 2016 when he lost in a runoff.
Proceeds from the tournament goes to support special needs children in Selma and Dallas County. The proceeds will go toward Cahaba Mental Health, West Alabama Rehabilitation Easter-Seals, Selma City Schools and Dallas County Schools.
Evans said his passion for special needs kids came during his stint as superintendent of Dallas County Schools and being a long-time director.
“I started this program nine years ago to give back to special needs children and make them feel part of society,” Evans said. “This event is about the parents and teachers of special needs kids.”
Players must check in by 9:30 a.m. on Oct. 17 to compete in the three-person men/women scramble that starts at 10 a.m. Cost is $80 per player, $240 per team. Evans will be on the 18th green to try to hole a putt for each team.
If the tournament is rained out, it will be held on Oct. 24 at the same time.
The tournament has four different sponsorship levels: Friends of special needs children ($100), Silver ($400), Gold ($600) and Platinum ($1,000).
If a person’s writing a check, they can be made to GPE Golf Fund. The mailing address is George P. Evans, P.O. Box 909 Selma, Alabama 36702 or Carrie Bearden, 417 Medical Center Parkway, Selma, Alabama 36701.
The tournament’s name was originally called the Mayor’s Charity Golf Classic, but Evans said he changed the fundraiser after he left office.
“I changed it to the GPE Golf Classic because I didn’t want people to get the wrong idea,” Evans said. “I’ll always be called Mayor, but I wanted to take the Mayor’s name off the tournament.”
A Fun Day event will be held on Oct. 16 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the George P. Evans building, located on 2 Lawrence Street, for special needs children from city and county schools, Cahaba Mental Health and West Alabama Rehabilitation.
