Friends and Neighbors: Sign up now for UM Sports Hall of Fame Golf Tournament

Dust off those golf shoes and clubs to join the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame Celebrity Golf Tournament to support student athletes and the Hall of Fame.

The event, set for Oct. 23 at the Biltmore Golf Course in Coral Gables, will be a partnership of the Hall of Fame and the UM Hurricane Club. This is the 23rd year for the tournament and Alonzo Highsmith is celebrity guest host.

“It’s truly an honor to host the University Miami Sports Hall of Fame Golf Tournament, and I’m hoping many former players and alumni come out to support,” Highsmith said in a release. “I’m a proud alumnus of both academics and sports and a Cane for life.”

Highsmith was a member of the 1983 UM National Championship team and a first round pick in the 1987 NFL draft. He spent five seasons in the NFL, and was inducted into the UM Sports Hall of Fame in 1997. He is in his 17th year with the Green Bay Packers and is now senior personnel executive.

“We’re excited that for the second consecutive year, we will be partnering with the Hurricane Club to create a wonderful event that allows fans an opportunity to spend a day playing golf with Hurricane greats of the past,” said Hall of Fame President Gerard Loisel in a release. “It’s a great opportunity to not only raise funds for the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame, but to also provide scholarships for future Hall of Famers.”

Tournament registration begins at 11 a.m. Oct. 23 and Hole In The Wall Pub will provide lunch. Golfers will get started at 12:30 p.m. After the tournament, there will be an awards dinner in one of the historic Biltmore Hotel ballrooms. Entry fees start at $250 and include golf, lunch, awards dinner, a goody bag and a golf shirt.

For information go to www.hurricanesports.com and to sign up your team, contact Hall of Fame Executive Director John Routh at 305-284-2775 or Crystal Demps in the Hurricane Club at 305-284-6699.

Tournament sponsorships are still available for corporations and businesses.

Shop to help kids in need

You know you’re going shopping anyway. Check out this fundraising opportunity for Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade at the same time.

The nonprofit group is teaming up with the new Lilly Pulitzer boutique in the Village of Merrick Park, noon to 6 p.m. Sept. 13, to raise awareness of Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade and the upcoming ninth annual “Wild About Kids” gala and after-party. Shoppers will be able to browse the latest styles, socialize and give back to our community. A percentage of all sales will benefit Boys & Girls Clubs.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade have been helping youth since 1946. What started in a single building has grown to five clubs challenging thousands of boys and girls year round to be the best they can be through character and leadership programs, sports, educational enhancement, the arts and much more.

The gala is set for Nov. 7 at the Ritz Carlton, Key Biscayne. “Wild About Kids” is the marquis annual event that raises funds in support of the youth programs after school and at summer camp. This year’s gala is chaired by community leaders Gabriela Rachadell de Delgado and co-chaired by Elizabeth Vega Patino. For more visit www.bgcmia.org.

Club helps women and girls

Soroptimist International of Coral Gables is looking for new members to work on its ongoing Mustard Seed project and other employment and healing programs for women and girls.

The club will hold its first meeting of the season at 6 p.m. Sept. 17 at the Riviera Country Club, 1155 Blue Rd., Coral Gables.

Members have a mission to improve lives through projects that lead to social and economic improvement. Through Mustard Seed, club members teach horticulture to ex-incarcerated women who are housed in Agape, a faith-based, nondenominational facility in Miami. For more on how to get involved, call 305-789-0043. Visit www.soroptimist.org for more.

Hot news discussions

The Rotary Club of Miami Dadeland-Pinecrest has exciting speakers scheduled for September and October. Join in to learn some of the latest information on topics in the news.

Randall Berg, the internationally known executive director of the Florida Justice Institute, will discuss the nation’s “Out of Control Police Force” on Sept. 8.

On Sept. 22, club attendees will hear from Dr. Azik Wolf, head of the Miami Neuroscience Center and one of the world’s leading authorities on stereotactic radiosurgery. Wolf’s topic will be “Brain Cancer Deaths Should be a Wake-up Call.”

Miami-Dade Public Defender Carlos Martinez will speak Oct. 13 about “Adult Prison is No Place for the Young.” And on Oct. 27, club members and guests will meet former FBI agent Sam Martinez, author of the book Systemic Evil: Mat Perez v. the FBI.

Comprised of professionals and business executives who reside and/or work in the Kendall/Pinecrest area, the Rotary Club of Miami Dadeland-Pinecrest meets for breakfast 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. on the second and fourth Tuesday morning of each month at the Dadeland Marriott Hotel, 9090 S. Dadeland Blvd., to discuss community projects and hear interesting speakers. Members also plan networking events and dinner each month.

New members can fill classifications of journalist, dentist, veterinarian, optometrist, chiropractor, psychologist, publicist, computer technician, plumber, printer, architect, electrician, clergy, financial advisor, acupuncturist, automotive mechanic and several attorney classifications. For more, contact Howard Horowitz, 786-346-6661, hhtheman@yahoo.com or Ron Lieberman, 305-613-6744, miamilawyr@gmail.com.

This story was originally published September 2, 2015 at 2:48 PM with the headline "Friends and Neighbors: Sign up now for UM Sports Hall of Fame Golf Tournament."