The Villager Newspaper Online Your Community News – Cleveland's Westshore
CLEVELAND, OH (March 26, 2015) – Momentum is building for the highly anticipated inaugural Swing Golf Outing benefitting the B-Buzz Little League Foundation. Seneca Golf Course in Broadview Heights, OH and golf pro Jamie Taylor will host the outing on Saturday, May 9, 2015.
Participation in this event will directly benefit the foundation to re-build a desperately needed community program that helped develop successful professional athletes, broadcast personalities, civic leaders, and businessmen including:
Call & Post GM Kevin “Chill” Heard; Emmy award-winning journalist Ben Holbert; Heisman Trophy winner/Super Bowl XXXI MVP/ESPN Analyst Desmond Howard; former NFL/CFL RB Terry Jones, Dr. Dale A. Kates, DDS, Kates Orthodontics; former NBA forward and current Warrensville Heights Mayor Bradley D. Sellers; and former L. A. Dodger Craig Thompson to name a few.
B-Buzz’s mission is to not just nurture good athletes but encourage and foster excellence in scholarship and leadership. The foundation is ready to equip boys and girls with nourishment for both the mind and body as part of the league’s philosophy. Funds raised will help cover costs of uniforms, equipment, and also provide tutorial and educational support during summer months and throughout the school year.
B-Buzz alumni and friends will travel from Atlanta, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Columbus, Detroit, Houston, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, as well as northeast Ohio to show their skills on the links.
We are excited that Tesla Motors will showcase its Model S® and give one lucky participant the opportunity to win a Model S® experience for a weekend.
We are equally pleased that Dollar Bank and golfTec are Hole Challenge sponsors.
About B-Buzz
Formed in the late 1950s by a local Beekeeper at JoAnn Park, on Cleveland’s southeast side, the B-Buzz Baseball League was an integral part of many young men’s lives in the Lee-Harvard community. Fast forward to 1969 – Lee-Harvard’s rapid transformation to a predominantly Black middle-class neighborhood prompted a group of parents and community members to continue the league long after its original participants moved away.
For more than 15 years after relocating to Charles W. Eliot field in 1969, five leagues comprised of young men ages 8 to 21, played almost every day during the summer. The highly regarded Colts team won two city tournaments in 1976. At one time, close to 300 youth participated in B-Buzz.
By the late 1970s the league dissolved and the young men were on their way to becoming community leaders, professional athletes, and successful businessmen.
B-Buzz alumni include local luminaries:
- Kenny Gray, Owner, Gray Barrel and Drum
- Brian Gresham, Owner, Take5 Rhythm & Jazz Tapas Lounge and Harvard Wine & Grill
- Kevin “Chill” Heard, General Manager, Call & Post newspaper
- Ben Holbert, Emmy award-winning journalist
- Desmond Howard, Heisman Trophy winner/Super Bowl XXXI MVP
- Terry Jones, Personal Fitness Trainer and former CFL/NFL Running Back
- Dr. Dale A. Kates, DDS, Kates Orthodontics
- Daryl Z. Laisure, President and CEO, Zin Technologies, Inc.
- Virgil Pittman, Jr., Retired CFD
- Councilman Zack Reed, Ward 2
- Mayor Bradley D. Sellers (Warrensville Heights), former NBA forward
- Jeffrey Thomas, Owner, Carl’s Barbershop
- Craig Thompson, former L.A. Dodger
WHAT: Diversified Funk Swing Golf Outing
Four-person scramble format
Individuals and Pairs WELCOME!
WHEN: Saturday, May 9
9:00 AM Shotgun Start
WHERE: Seneca Golf Course – Brecksville Reservation
975 Valley Parkway
Broadview Heights, OH 44147
To register for the golf outing visit http://www.diversifiedfunk.com. Early bird rates apply until April 1st. Registration closes Friday, May 1st.
