On May 3rd, the Memphis Alumni Chapter hosted the Inaugural Cliff Davis & Jeff Smith Memorial Golf Classic benefiting the American Cancer Society’s Coaches vs. Cancer program.
“I’m happy to announce that we were able to achieve our goal of raising $50,000,” Jacob W. “Jake” Warren (Gamma Gamma–Memphis ’14) commented. “It was such a great day that was much better than any of us imagined it would be. We had 26 teams (104 players) participate in the tournament. Also in attendance were the families of both Cliff and Jeff, local KA alumni from a variety of chapters, undergraduate members of Gamma Gamma chapter, several staff members of the American Cancer Society, and a strong group of volunteers (spouses of the players).”
The tournament was held a few miles south of Memphis at Hernando Golf & Racquet Club in Hernando, Mississippi. Registration kicked off at 10am, followed by a delicious BBQ lunch prepared by Hal Peyton and a Whiskey Putt that featured more than 60 bottles of various bourbons. Each were a huge hit. A brief opening ceremony was held at noon where Drew DePriest welcomed all in attendance, David Nanney shared a few words about Cliff & Jeff and how much this tournament would have meant to them, and Nick Ciupak from the American Cancer Society thanked everyone for helping make this event possible. There were some side contests featured during the tournament. A 2024 Chevy Trailblazer was donated by All-Star Chevrolet as the prize for the hole-in-one contest winner and Delta Airlines donated flight vouchers as the prize for the longest drive. We also held a silent auction that featured 30 different items, including autographed memorabilia, tickets to concerts and sporting events, vacation packages, and more. The tournament wrapped up around 5pm with an award ceremony followed by an afterparty with a live band that continued into the night.
View photos taken throughout the day by Autumn Garcia.
“None of this would have been possible without the alumni brothers who served on the event board with me: David Nanney, Art Kuntzman, Chris Parish, Derek Haynie, Drew DePriest, Joel Thomas, John Strange, Preston Hudson, Seann Davidson, and Terry Trim,” Jake Warren said.
