TURNING STONE DRAWS DAZZLING DOZEN

Notah Begay III at Turning Stone Resort

A dozen of the world’s best golfers – men and women – will triple the size of the annual Notah Begay III Foundation Challenge. The third annual event at Turning Stone Resort will feature a 12-player field at the Atunyote Golf Club on August 31.

Men: Anthony Kim, Camilo Villegas, Hunter Mahan, Vijay Singh, Rickie Fowler and Begay. Women: recent LPGA retirees Annika Sorenstam and Lorena Ochoa, plus Suzann Pettersen, Cristie Kerr, Morgan Pressel and Anna Rawson. Begay and Villegas return from last year’s Skins Game that also included Tiger Woods and Mike Weir and raised $1.2 million.

All proceeds from the tournament go directly to benefit the NB3 Foundation and its partnership with the Oneida Indian Nation and the San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians to raise awareness and funding to fight against obesity and promote youth sports and wellness within Native American communities.

“I am extremely grateful to have some of the world’s top golfers from the men’s and women’s game join me at this year’s event and support the Foundation’s mission of empowering Native youth to sustain active, healthy and productive lives,” said Begay in a release. “Through their involvement and the partnership of the San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians and the Oneida Indian Nation, the NB3 Challenge will continue to fuel our commitment to the long-term battle to ensure that Native American youth are given the opportunity to be healthy and be engaged in positive activities that can promote their well-being and success as young adults.”

Full Press Release:

WORLD’S BEST GOLFERS FROM MEN’S AND WOMEN’S GAME COME TOGETHER AT  NOTAH BEGAY III FOUNDATION CHALLENGE TO BENEFIT NATIVE AMERICAN YOUTH

Begay, Oneida Indian Nation and San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians team up to continue fight against obesity and promote youth sports and wellness within Native American communities

Verona, N.Y. – (June 9, 2010) – Notah Begay III, a four-time PGA TOUR winner, today announced the 12-player field for the third annual Notah Begay III (NB3) Foundation Challenge. PGA TOUR stars Anthony Kim, Camilo Villegas and Hunter Mahan, along with LPGA greats Annika Sorenstam and Lorena Ochoa, are among the golfers who will join Begay on Tuesday, Aug. 31, at Turning Stone Resort’s Atunyote Golf Club on Oneida Indian Nation lands near Vernon, N.Y. Rounding out the world-class golf field are LPGA Tour professionals Suzann Pettersen, Cristie Kerr, Morgan Pressel and Anna Rawson and PGA TOUR golfers Vijay Singh and Rickie Fowler. 

Through a strong and ever-growing partnership with the Oneida Indian Nation and the San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians, the NB3 Foundation Challenge raises awareness and funding for the improved health and wellness of Native American youth on Indian reservations nationwide.

All proceeds from the tournament go directly to benefit the Notah Begay III Foundation. Last year’s event featuring Begay, Villegas and PGA TOUR standouts Tiger Woods and Mike Weir raised $1.2 million in support of the foundation’s mission.

“I am extremely grateful to have some of the world’s top golfers from the men’s and women’s game join me at this year’s event and support the Foundation’s mission of empowering Native youth to sustain active, healthy and productive lives,” said Begay. “Through their involvement and the partnership of the San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians and the Oneida Indian Nation, the NB3 Challenge will continue to fuel our commitment to the long-term battle to ensure that Native American youth are given the opportunity to be healthy and be engaged in positive activities that can promote their well-being and success as young adults.”

The Notah Begay III Foundation was founded in 2005 by Begay, the only full-blooded Native American on the PGA TOUR. In an effort to make a difference in the lives of Native American youth, the Foundation took on the mission to reduce the disproportionately high incidence of obesity and diabetes among children in Native American communities. The Foundation’s focus is on creating sustainable and innovative soccer and golf programs – designed by Native Americans for Native American youth – that promote physical fitness, wellness and leadership development.   

Proceeds from the 2009 NB3 Challenge helped Begay and the Foundation make its first major impact in Indian Country when it broke ground on the first phase of a $750,000 soccer field and community park in the San Felipe Pueblo in May 2010. The park will serve as the Pueblo’s first recreational facility in its history, and will be the future home for the San Felipe Soccer Club – a program the NB3 Foundation has operated since 2005 for more than 200 Pueblo youth. Along with the soccer program, the Foundation has established a number of golf initiatives, including a partnership with To’hajiilee High School, a Navajo Nation community school in New Mexico. Additionally, the Foundation has delivered golf curricula to the school’s students and has also implemented summer junior golf programs and clinics in New Mexico and in other tribal communities across the country. These partnerships with the Navajo Nation, San Felipe Pueblo and other communities represent the model golf and soccer programs the Foundation is striving to implement across Indian Country.

The relationship between Begay, the Oneida Indian Nation and the San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians allows the NB3 Foundation Challenge to demonstrate what can be accomplished when tribes come together and donate time and resources to issues important to Native American communities. In addition, the event magnifies the monumental progress Indian nations have made recently to build a more promising future for their youth and communities. The host site for the NB3 Foundation Challenge, Turning Stone Resort & Casino, is an economic enterprise of the Oneida Indian Nation.

“The Oneida Indian Nation is honored to again host and co-sponsor the Notah Begay III Foundation Challenge at our beautiful Atunyote Golf Club,” said Ray Halbritter, Oneida Nation Representative and CEO of Nation Enterprises. “We are also pleased to have the San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians as a partner in raising much-needed funds for the NB3 Foundation and its continued efforts to benefit American Indian youth. I’m looking forward to a wonderful event with some of the world’s top players from the PGA and LPGA Tours.”

“It is our responsibility as parents and tribal leaders to set the tone for overall wellness and health among our youth,” said San Manuel Chairman James Ramos. “As a partner in this tournament for three years, we have witnessed the positive strides that Notah and the NB3 Foundation are making at the community level on Indian reservations across this nation. Problems of obesity and high rates of diabetes have become entrenched in Indian Country. We believe our first and best opportunity to uproot the causes of these conditions is to change the attitudes and behaviors of our youth. We have faith that these programs will help turn the tide toward a more healthy future for our young people.” 

The expanded field at the 2010 NB3 Foundation features a who’s who from the men’s and women’s world of golf. Singh, a four-time major champion and the winner of the 2008 FEDEX Cup, owns 34 career PGA TOUR victories. The trio of Kim, Villegas and Mahan all sit among the top 25 in the World Golf Rankings. Kim owns three career PGA TOUR victories and has teamed with two-time TOUR winner Mahan on the victorious 2008 U.S Ryder Cup and 2009 Presidents Cup squads. The first Columbian ever to win an event on the PGA, Villegas has three PGA TOUR wins on his resume, including the 2010 Honda Classic. The 2010 rookie campaign of Fowler, who is part Navajo, has been solid with four top 10 finishes in his first 15 PGA TOUR starts.

Sorenstam and Ochoa, two giants of the women’s game who have combined for 99 career LPGA wins, will return to the links for the first time together at the NB3 Challenge. In 15 years on the LPGA Tour, Sorenstam built a Hall of Fame career with 10 major championships and career earnings of over $22.5 million, a Tour record.  Ochoa ascended to the top of the Women’s rankings in 2007, and held that position for 157 straight weeks.  Before announcing her retirement this past April, the eight-year pro dominated the women’s game capturing four straight Rolex Player of the Year awards from 2006-2009. Pettersen and LPGA Tour veteran Kerr both rank in the top five in the Women’s World Golf Rankings. Kerr owns 12 career victories in 13 years as a pro while Pettersen has captured six career LPGA wins including the 2007 LPGA Championship. Pressel has two career wins on the LPGA Tour and has been a member of both the 2007 and 2009 victorious U.S. Solheim Cup teams. Rawson is in her third year as an LPGA pro following a college career at the University of Southern California where she won a NCAA Championship in 2003. 

This year, the NB3 Foundation Challenge will be a mixed team, best ball format with a total purse of $400,000. The winning two-some will split a first place prize of $100,000. Past events featured a Skins Challenge format with Woods capturing top honors in 2009 and Villegas edging Singh for the top spot in the 2008 inaugural event.

For more information about the NB3 Foundation Challenge, visit: www.nb3challenge.com. Ticket pricing and additional event information will be available soon by contacting the Turning Stone box office at 315-361-SHOW (7469).
 
Key Background About Notah Begay III Foundation

In 2005, Notah Begay III established the Notah Begay III (NB3) Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Notah established the Foundation to address the profound health and wellness issues impacting Native American youth and to empower those youth and help them realize their potential as tomorrow’s leaders. The mission of the Foundation is to reduce the incidences of obesity and diabetes and advance the lives of Native American youth through sports and wellness programming. To this end, the mission the Foundation supports is the development of sustainable, evidence-based and innovative soccer and golf programs designed by Native Americans for Native American youth that promote physical fitness, wellness and leadership development.

About Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York

A premier four-season, destination resort in Upstate New York, the Oneida Indian Nation’s Turning Stone Resort and Casino is conveniently located about 30 miles east of Syracuse at NYS Thruway exit 33.  Turning Stone was named “Most Excellent Golf Resort” by Condé Nast Johansens in 2010 and Casino of the Year by the Academy of Country Music in 2009. The resort offers world class gaming, golf, entertainment, accommodations and spa facilities and has earned AAA four-diamond ratings for The Lodge, The Tower Hotel and Wildflowers restaurant. The Atunyote Golf Club is the annual host of The Turning Stone Resort Championship, a PGA Tour event. Turning Stone’s entertainment and meeting venues include the 5,000-seat Event Center, the 800-seat Showroom and the Conference Center.

For more information and reservations, call (315) 361-7711 or 1-(800) 771-7711, and visit turningstone.com.

About the Oneida Indian Nation

The Oneida Indian Nation is a federally recognized Indian nation in Central New York. A founding member of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (also known as the Six Nations or Iroquois Confederacy), the Oneida Indian Nation sided with the Americans in the Revolutionary War and was thanked by Congress and President George Washington for its loyalty and assistance. Today, the Oneida Nation consists of about 1,000 enrolled Members, most of them living in Central New York. The Nation’s enterprises, which employ nearly 5,000 people, include Turning Stone Resort and Casino, the SavOn chain of gas stations and convenience stores, a 3,000 acre beef and crop farm, three marinas, and Four Directions Media, which includes a national weekly newspaper and a 3D animation/HD cinematography studio. Proceeds from these enterprises are used to rebuild the Nation’s economic base and provide essential services, including housing, health care, and education incentives and programs, to its Members. Visit www.oneidaindiannation.com for more information on the Nation.

About San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians 

The San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians is a federally recognized American Indian tribe located near the city of Highland, Calif. The Serrano Indians are the indigenous people of the San Bernardino highlands, passes, valleys and mountains who share a common language and culture. The San Manuel reservation was established in 1891 and recognized as sovereign nation with the right of self-government. Since time immemorial, the San Manuel tribal community has endured change and hardship. Amidst these challenges the tribe continued to maintain its unique form of governance. Like other governments it seeks to provide a better quality of life for its citizens by building infrastructure, maintaining civil services and promoting social, economic and cultural development. Today San Manuel tribal government oversees many governmental units including the departments of fire, public safety, education and environment. Visit www.sanmanuel-nsn.gov for more information on the tribe.
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