Wal-Mart Vendors Golf for Scholarships
by August 1, 2005 12:00 am 71 views
More than 30 vendors to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. raised $15,000 at the ninth annual Vendors FORE Education Golf Tournament on July 15.
The money will be donated to fund student scholarships in the Center for Retailing Excellence at the University of Arkansas’ Walton College of Business. The tourney was held at Stonebridge Meadows Golf Club in Fayetteville.
David Melton is president of D.A. Melton and Associates of Marionville, Mo., an executive search and recruitment firm that specializes in Wal-Mart vendor placement. He said the event is a win-win situation because it gives him an opportunity contribute to the community as well as spend time with his primary business contacts.
He also operates an office in Bentonville, he said.
Pamela Styles, assistant director of the CRE, said just three years ago the event raised a mere $2,500, so this year’s donation represents a 500 percent increase to the fund since that time. Last year the event donated $10,000, Styles said, which gave four students each a $2,500 scholarship.
Vendors paid a minimum of $625 for teams of five and had an option to sponsor holes for $500 or $1,000, Styles said.
About 30 teams and 124 players participated in this year’s event.
The tournament was started and has been organized annually by Russ Heithoff, owner of Diversified Retail Solutions LLC, and Erik Wolff, owner of E-Wolff Sales Solutions.