Key Information Systems Sponsors the Venerable LA Open Golf Tourney for 3rd Year
Leading IBM Premier Business Partner gives back to the local community through sponsorship at PGA Champions golf classic in Los Angeles for 3rd consecutive year.
Editor's Highlights:
- Key is sponsor in L.A.’s leading charity event to help fight inner-city poverty.
- Los Angeles Junior Chamber of Commerce funds community projects from the event.
- L.A. Open: oldest civic-sponsored PGA event; started 1926; $6.2 million purse.
- Major component of Key’s program to give back to the community.
- Key recruited co-sponsors: AVNET, Azaleos, Brocade, IBM Tivoli and VMware.
Woodland Hills, CA – February 14, 2008 -- Key Information Systems, an IT systems integrator and Premier IBM Business Partner, will be a sponsor of the classic L.A. Open PGA Champions golf tourney, this year called the 2008 Northern Trust Open, taking place Feb. 14 to 18 at the Riviera Country Club in the rolling hills of Pacific Palisades, California. As an official tournament sponsor, Key has raised over $35,000 for this venerable golf charity event, the oldest civic-sponsored event on the PGA Tour started in 1926 by the Los Angeles Junior Chamber of Commerce (LAJCC).
As an IBM Premier Business Partner, Key Information Systems provides IT infrastructure and systems architecture solutions that focus on virtualization, security, server consolidation, storage management and business continuity.
Elliot said, “Key’s sponsorship of this outstanding golfing event is in partnership with our co-sponsors: AVNET, Azaleos, Brocade, IBM Tivoli and VMware. All have contributed towards the funds we are raising to support the First Tee of Los Angeles, one of the community service programs supported by the LAJCC.”
“We chose the 17th Green Panorama Suite to sponsor,” reported Pete Elliot, Key’s Marketing Director and ramrod for the fundraiser, “because it offers a unique view of the 17th hole as well as Riviera’s historic 18th holetee box.” The 17th hole at the Riviera Country Club is the longest hole on the course, requiring two long shots to put players in position for a possible birdie.
The tournament held at the Riviera Country Club is one of the most respected tournaments on the PGA Champions TOUR schedule, attracting many of the best professional players in the world of golf. This year’s Northern Trust Open has an impressive roster that includes 8 of the top 10 players (17 of top 20) including returning winner from last year’s tourney Charles Howell III, plus Vejay Singh, Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott and Robert Allenby. Only Tiger Woods,, Ernie Els and Henrik Stenson will be skipping the event.
Known as Hogan’s Alley because of outstanding performances here by legendary Ben Hogan, the course has had some improvements to the greens and bunker placement that should add to the excitement and a great 18 holes.
The company’s employees have taken an active part in recruiting other member of the IT community to participate in this year’s charity event. All bottom-line proceeds from the Nissan Open are used by the Los Angeles Junior Chamber of Commerce in fulfilling its mission to serve the Los Angeles community by funding charitable programs including the First Tee of Los Angeles, Safe Passage Tennis, Riordan Volunteer Leadership Program, Foster Family Picnic and the Los Angeles Watts Summer Games. Charity proceeds of all PGA TOUR events reached the $1 billion mark in 2006.
Last year the L.A. PGA Champions tourney (then called the Nissan Open) generated more than $1.9 million for philanthropic causes. Since its inception, L.A. Open and its successor event now held at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, has generated more than $50 million for philanthropic projects and programs within Southern California. This makes it one of the most productive fund raisers for local community programs in the United States. The purse this year of $6.2 million is $1.1 million more than last year’s.
“If you look around the tourney, you see IBM providing the very sophisticated scoring, five major IT vendor sponsors in our tent, and many other well-known companies as sponsors,” observed Elliot. “This should help to put the kibosh on the old notion that IT companies aren’t major participants in charity fundraisers.” Elliot concluded, “If you’ve got it, you owe it to your local community to share it … it’s all part of the green experience.”
Key’s president, Lief Morin, named by the San Fernando Valley Business Journal to its 40 Under 40 list honoring outstanding executives in enterprises based in California’s San Fernando Valley, said, “The community benefits that the L.A. Junior Chamber provides with funds from this PGA event are outstanding and provide us with a great opportunity to expand on our practice of giving back to the local community. This event follows on the heels of a long list of charitable activities in which our employees have participated and look forward to each year.”
Many of the greatest names in the world of professional golf have been crowned Champion at the LA Open event since its inception in 1926, when it was conceived by the Los Angeles Junior Chamber of Commerce. Past Open champions include Sam Snead (1945, score 283), Byron Nelson (1946, score 284), Ben Hogan (1948, score 275), Arnold Palmer (1963, score 274), Billy Casper (1968, score 274), Tom Watson (1980, score 276), Johnny Miller (1981, score 270), Fred Couples (1992, score 269), Craig Stadler (1996, score 278), Nick Faldo (1997, score 272) and Ernie Els (1999, score 272).
To learn how your company can participate with Key as a co-sponsor in a PGA event, contact Pete Elliot, Key Information Systems, Inc., 21700 Oxnard St., Suite 250, Woodland Hills, CA 91367, USA, email pelliot@keyinfo.com or call 1.818.737.2804.
About Key Information Systems, Inc.
Key Information Systems (www.keyinfo.com) is a leading technology firm in the western United States, specializing in solutions for corporate infrastructure, business continuity and storage. Key is an IBM Premier Business Partner, AVNET Premier Business Partner and Microsoft Certified Partner. The company also integrates solutions including Azaleos, Brocade, Novell, Marathon Technologies and VMware. Key’s virtualization, security, high-availability and fault-tolerance solutions are backed by a complete range of professional services including critical assessment, financing, systems integration, installation, training and maintenance. With one of the most knowledgeable and best trained professional staffs in the industry, the company has been listed as one of Inc. magazine’s Fastest Growing Privately Held Companies in Los Angeles and has received Leadership, Beacon and Fast Track Awards from IBM as well as a Top Partner Award from AVNET. Corporate headquarters are in Woodland Hills, CA, with additional offices in San Francisco, Newport Beach and Phoenix, AZ. An IBM-authorized Business Partner Innovation Center is maintained at the Woodland Hills location. For more information, contact Key Information Systems, 21700 Oxnard St., Suite 250, Woodland Hills, CA 91367, USA, 1.877.442.3249, info@keyinfo.com.
About PGA TOUR
The PGA TOUR is a tax-exempt membership organization of professional golfers. The mission of the PGA TOUR is to expand domestically and internationally so as to substantially increase player financial benefits while maintaining its commitment to the integrity of the game. Major championships include Masters Tournament, the U.S. Open, the British Open and PGA Championship. In addition to providing competitive opportunities for its membership, PGA TOUR events also generate revenue for charitable causes in their communities. PGA TOUR, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour events have donated over $1 billion to charity since 1938. The current PGA TOUR Commissioner is Timothy W. Finchem, holding the office since 1994. PGA TOUR Headquarters is located at 112 PGA TOUR Boulevard, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida 32082. Telephone: 904-285-3700. Visit their website at www.pgatour.com.
About the Los Angeles Junior Chamber of Commerce
The mission of the Los Angeles Junior Chamber of Commerce (LAJCC) is to serve the community by providing innovative projects and programs which benefit at-risk youth. The LAJCC achieves its mission through the volunteer efforts of its membership of young professionals. LAJCC programs serve 15,000 youth annually and provide athletic, arts and educational opportunities which encourage integrity and self-esteem. Sports programs include: First Tee of Los Angeles, Safe Passage Tennis, Riordan Volunteer Leadership Program, Foster Family Picnic and the Los Angeles Watts Summer Games. Community service projects include: Ready To Learn Literacy Project, Foster Family Picnic, and Children’s Hospital Art Project. The LAJCC Foundation supports youth seeking higher education and awards more than $50,000 in scholarships annually. For further information, visit www.lajcc.org.
- 30 -
Trademarks
Key Information Systems is a trademark of Key Information Systems, Inc. in the United States and other countries. IBM is a registered trademark of IBM Corporation in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Relevant Links
MC PressOnline Article
http://www.mcpressonline.com/cio-news/channel-news/it-companies-shell-out-for-charity-as-pga-golf-tourney-opens-in-la.html
Key Information Systems
www.keyinfo.com
Los Angeles Junior Chamber of Commerce
www.lajcc.org
PGA TOUR - General
www.pgatour.com
Northern Trust Open
www.pgatour.com/tournaments/r007/
Riviera Country Club
http://rccla.com
10-Day Weather Forecast at the Riviera Country Club
http://www.intellicast.com/IcastPage
Key’s Northern Trust Open Co-Sponsors
AVNET: www.avnet.com
Azaleos: www.azaleos.com
Brocade: www.brocade.com
IBM Tivoli: www.306.ibm.com/software/tivoli/
VMware: www.vmware.com
|
