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"Golf is a game whose aim it is to hit a very small ball into an even smaller hole, with weapons singularly ill-designed for the purpose." |
-Winston Churchill |
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When it comes to why we like being on the golf course, we’re guessing we’re not too different from most of our readers. We enjoy how golf courses are like worlds unto themselves, filled with a natural beauty and imbued with a relaxed vibe that is refreshingly free from the traffic, deadlines and headaches that are so much a part of a busy, modern lifestyle. But while a golf course might feel insular and removed from the outer world, it really isn’t. So it’s with great admiration that we take time this month to salute a person who is using his golf course, and his connections in the industry, to make a difference for homeless and disadvantaged people in his community, and to help make the lives of American military personnel a bit more palatable overseas. We’re talking about Jay Miller, who in the past five years has transformed a once run-down golf course in Corona — Cresta Verde Golf Course — into a well-regarded golf facility and an integral member of its community. Two things he’s recently accomplished are indicative of Miller’s generosity. After hearing that a homeless shelter in Corona was running out of money, Miller started thinking of how he might be able to pitch in and help a shelter that services 300 families a year. His idea? Obtaining special city approval to allow a major outdoor signage company to install two highway billboards on his property. Both billboards will be in clear view of the 200,000 people who pass the course on the 91 freeway every day. Billboards are big business and Miller estimates that the company will spend $125,000 for the right to advertise products on his property. Seventy-five percent of that money will be given to the Corona Homeless Shelter. “Their annual operating budget is $200,000 and they were running out of money and I thought this was a novel way that we could help them out,” Miller said. The other 25 percent of the funds will go to the Get a Grip Foundation, which is an on-site educational and golf learning center for local youths that Miller founded. While all kids are eligible to join the foundation, Miller has stepped up efforts lately to work with youth prisons, foster care organizations and child victims of domestic violence. “Sometimes you just have to speak up for those who don’t have a voice,” Miller said. “I have been blessed with what I have and why not take those blessings and let others benefit from them in some way?” While chipping in to help a homeless shelter keeps its doors open is a very serious endeavor, Miller’s other major charitable work these days is more fun: he helped coordinate the collection of thousands of pieces of golf equipment from local companies in order to send them to U.S. military personnel in Iraq. Operation Desert Long Ball is a joint effort between Miller, Roger Dunn Golf Shops, former Corona mayor and Gripper Golf Glove Company owner Jeff Bennet, Titleist and TaylorMade, the Cresta Verde Men’s club and other entities. The golf supplies will go to a Calvary Division in Iraq. It’s a novel way to help keep men and women who are making great sacrifices feel grounded and to give them a tangible reminder of home as they perform their very serious duties half a world away. We think these efforts are wonderful and a sterling example of how the golf industry can make a very positive impact on the world outside its tree-lined fairways and emerald greens. |
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