One of Louisville's most rib-rollicking good times is set to support Special Olympics Kentucky once again as the Texas Roadhouse Armadillo Classic hits its eight year, and once again the event has some new wrinkles.
This year's event will return to Quail Chase Golf Course on Wednesday, Oct. 10 with many of the same events that have made the Armadillo Classic a must-attend on the Louisville golf outing calendar. There will be a shotgun start at 10 am with some fun gimmick holes and great prizes including a hole in one contest sponsored by S.S. Kemp Company. Golfers will all be treated to a box lunch and golf will be followed by a Legendary Texas Roadhouse ribs dinner. The day concludes with the Armadillo Classic's one of a kind live auction.
This year, however, the day kicks off at 8:30 am with a pancake breakfast sponsored by Coca-Cola. The breakfast will include a number of celebrity sports personalities working the griddles.
The live auction will be held during the dinner and includes many exciting packages including a pair of full week passes for the 2008 Ryder Cup that will be held at Valhalla Golf Course in Louisville.
Platinum Sponsors for this year's Texas Roadhouse Armadillo Classic to benefit Special Olympics Kentucky are: Sygma, Buffalo Construction, AT Systems, Print Tex USA, FCI, Clark & Riggs, US Millwork and Bud Light.
The scramble is sold out, but tickets for the Legendary Texas Roadhouse dinner and live auction are available for $25 each. For more information contact event organizers Danielle Archer at 502-5157332 or Diania Mullaney at 502-515-7324.
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Country music legend Willie Nelson gets some help from Special Olympics Kentucky athlete Chris Revay during a concert the night before the Armadillo Classic. |
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For its first six years, The Texas Roadhouse Armadillo Classic had been one of the most enjoyable one-day events in Kentucky. Graced by great weather, good times and legendary eats, Special Olympics Kentucky Year-Round Partner Texas Roadhouse quickly built the Armadillo Classic into one of the year's most successful fundraisers for the program.
What happened between year sixth and the Seventh Annual Texas Roadhouse Armadillo Classic? Well, the biggest difference is that it became one of the most enjoyable two-day fundraising events in Kentucky, thanks to some real Texas star power.
Country music legend Willie Nelson was on hand and provided much of the excitement on Oct. 3 & 4. On Tuesday, Oct. 3, Nelson played a small private concert for Armadillo Classic sponsors. Nelson played to an enthusiastic audience for more than an hour, playing many of his greatest hits. He even shared the stage for a while with Special Olympics Kentucky golfer Chris Revay, who sported his own Texas Roadhouse Willie Nelson-style braids for the occasion.
But music wasn't Willie's only involvement. following the show, he auctioned off the opportunity to play nine holes of the golf scramble with him the next day. Longtime Special Olympics supporter John Francis of Accuserv Lighting and Equipment placed the winning $9,000 bid.
Wednesday, Oct. 4 broke the way nearly every other Armadillo Classic day has, with bright sunshine and warmer than average weather — perfect for another great day of golf and fun at Quail Chase Golf Course. And the Armadillo Classic played to another full house, producing the largest field in the event's history.
Before the day's round started, another celebrity committed to nine holes on the course. Hall of Fame Coach and another longtime Special Olympics supporter Denny Crum, who was on-hand for a live broadcast of the "Joe B. and Denny" radio show agreed to play the last nine holes with the winning bidder. That honor went to Jack Mullins from FCI who bid $2,500 to play with the coaching legend.
Once the golfers took to the course, Willie Nelson helped the Accuserv team to a second place finish. The event champions were the team from RHC Group.
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The 2006 Texas Roadhouse Armadillo Classic Champs
from RHC Group. |
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The fun didn't end on the golf course though. Following the round everyone was treated to the traditional Texas Roadhouse Killer Ribs Dinner before the annual live auction.
Annually one of the wildest auctions anywhere, this year's auction yielded huge results for Special Olympics. The biggest item on the docket was a Sun Valley Vacation package donated by Simplot. The bidding rolled on past the $10,000 mark before topping out at $13,000. Before the package was sold, both Frank Buster (who was part of the RHC Group winning team) and Scott Gregor of Buffalo Construction agreed to fulfill the bid and both will be headed to Sun Valley for the vacation which includes airfare for two, lodging for as many as 10, SUV rental, restaurant gift certificates, and either lift tickets and snowmobile rental (winter) or horseback riding and trout fishing excursions (summer).
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John Francis (far right) and his Accuserv team pose with special guests Willie Nelson and Texas Roadhouse founder and Chair Kent Taylor (second from right). |
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Gregor and Buffalo Construction played another big role in this year's event. Buffalo Construction was the title sponsor for another new addition to the day's festivities this year— the first annual Buffalo Construction Dillo Golf Ball Drop. Nearly 2,000 golf balls were sold through Texas Roadhouse locations. With the possibility of winning $25,000 on the line, those golf balls were loaded into the bucket of a crane provided by Abco-Bramer Company that was perched over a golf hole cut in the Quail Chase driving range. When Brenda Ray of Texas Roadhouse N Motion and Special Olympics Kentucky President and CEO Dave Kerchner pulled the rope that opened the bucket, it was ball number 1851 that was the first to find the hole. It wasn't one of the jackpot balls that would have earned $25,000, but it did win Cindy Eifertz $2,500. Other winners were Bill Picket, who claimed the Broilmaster Grill second prize and Roberta Blair who won dinner for a year from Texas Roadhouse for third prize. Also Barry Wasson won an iPod Nano when his ball — number 1840 — was found farthest from the hole. All winning golf balls were sold at the Texas Roadhouse Lexington location.
When all was said and done, from sponsors to golfers, to auction buyers and golf ball sales, the 7th Annual Texas Roadhouse Armadillo Classic raised a whopping $155,000 for Special Olympics Kentucky, making it the second largest fundraising event for the program this year.
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Golf balls poured out of the bucket of a crane provided
by Abco-Bramer Company for the first
Buffalo Construction Dillo Golf Ball Drop. |
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The Texas Roadhouse Armadillo Classic is the cornerstone of the company’s partnership with Special Olympics Kentucky, making Texas Roadhouse one of four of the program’s year-round statewide partners. The event’s success has made Texas Roadhouse the largest single corporate contributor to the program in each of the last three years.
Our thanks to everyone at Texas Roadhouse who helps make the Armadillo Classic possible -- especially Kent Taylor, G.J. Hart, Juli Miller-Hart, Danielle Archer and Brenda Ray.
We hope you will want to join us for the 8th Annual Texas Roadhouse Armadillo Classic for Special Olympics in October 2007. You never know what will happen. For more information about the 8th Annual Armadillo Classic or about the Dillo Golf Ball Drop, contact Kelly Hutchinson, Special Olympics Kentucky senior marketing director at 800-633-7403 or 502-326-5002 or via e-mail at khutchinson@soky.org. Or Brenda Ray of Texas Roadhouse N Motion at 502-515-7322 or via e-mail at brenda.ray@texasroadhouse.com.
