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In a continuation of its philanthropic efforts, The Five Star Institute, along with Dimont & Associates, Auction.com, and others, participated as a tournament sponsor for the Texas Neurofibromatosis (NF) Foundation's Texas NF Golf Classic, which took place Monday, November 3, at the picturesque Four Seasons Resort and Club in Irving.
The Texas NF Golf Classic is an annual charity golf tournament to raise awareness and funding to fight neurofibromatosis (NF), a neurological disease that affects an average of one in every 3,000 people. It is more prevalent than Cystic Fibrosis and Muscular Dystrophy combined. NF occurs equally in both men and women, in all races and ethnic groups. NF particularly affects children and can cause disfigurement, deafness, blindness, brain tumors, cancer, and even death. There is currently no cure or long-term treatment available for this debilitating disease.
At the invitation of presenting sponsor Dimont & Associates, Five Star President and CEO Ed Delgado addressed the crowd of golfers, sponsors, and other event attendees during the award luncheon following the tournament on Monday afternoon. Delgado spoke about NF and what the mortgage industry is doing to offer support to the cause of finding a cure. He noted that the long climb toward a cure would take a collective effort.
"I would like to thank Five Star, not only for their participation, but for the very wonderful words that Ed Delgado spoke at the event," said Joe McCloskey, SVP of business development with Dimont. "That's very important. Thank you, Five Star, for taking such an active role in the charity event and in the fight to find a cure for NF."
The event was a rousing success with greater participation than ever before – 88 golfers signed up, the most in the tournament's history. This was the sixth year in which Dimont & Associates has been a presenting sponsor for the Texas NF Golf Classic.
"It is so great that it's also really a part of an industry effort and a commitment from different people who give very generously to support the charity," McCloskey said. "It was an event where people stepped outside of their norms and outside of their offices to enjoy themselves collectively as a group. It was really a heartwarming commitment to helping out the charity."
One hundred percent of the net proceeds raised at the Texas NF Golf Classic go toward medical research or to assist those affected by NF. Since 2009, the annual golf tournament has been responsible for raising just under a quarter million dollars for NF research. This year's tournament resulted in a $50,000 grant funded to Kristine Vogel, Ph.D., the assistant professor of Cellular and Structural Biology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.
"This is a disease that affects so many people, yet there is so little familiarity with the disease itself on a broad social level," McCloskey said. "It's really important to be able to highlight that and raise awareness that this is a disease that affects so many people, particularly so many young people. There are many wonderful causes, and this is one of them. The foundation not only works in terms of the commitment to helping research to find a cure, it also provides a lot of support for people who are afflicted by the disease and their families. That's an important thing because this is a disease which is very demanding. It takes a toll on the people and families that are affected by it. The foundation stands behind those people even as we work to find a cure. It provides opportunities for clinics, for educational seminars, and for broader outreach to the public."
