Thanks to the Greene County Sheriff’s Department, the Honoring Our Heroes salute from the Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper is under way.
The department’s Color Guard of Sergeant Steve Martin, Gun Corporal Randy Foster and Deputy Jon Poulson marched nearly a quarter of a mile and hoisted the U.S. and Missouri flags in the Honoring Heroes tent on the 18th green Thursday morning at Highland Springs Country Club.
The Color Guard’s march began at the Volunteer Tent in the parking lot, turned down the entrance ramp to the course and then hooked around the 9th and 18th greens. This on a picture-perfect morning as the sun peeked over trees and steam skirted along the nearby pond.
The Honoring Our Heroes salute from the PCCC, a PGA Web.com Tour tournament which raises money for 43 Ozarks children’s charities, is new this year. The tournament is offering free admission, free food and beverages and a great view to watch all the action.
“Our whole philosophy from the very beginning was that there could be no better way to begin an activity every day than like this,” Executive Director Jerald Andrews said. “Just like when you pray in the morning, we ought to begin by thanking God for our nation. This is a way to publicly show that.”
Color Guards from the Springfield Police Department and the National Guard will perform the honors Friday and Saturday, respectively, just before 7 a.m.
“This is our first golf tournament. We’ve been privileged enough to do some Missouri State basketball games, several charity events and, unfortunately, several memorials but nothing of a golf tournament or on this scale,” Poulson said. “It is quite an honor.”
Tickets for the Honoring Our Heroes program can be picked up at the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, 3861 E. Stan Musial Drive in southeast Springfield, or at the admissions tent, which is across the street in the grassy parking lot. For other tickets, call 417-887-3400, and prices can be found on the website at pricecuttercc.org.
“I can’t help but believe there will be a lot of people look at the Heroes tent,” Andrews said, “and it’s going to make them stop and think about the freedoms they enjoy.”