Mike Coker and son Troy work on golf courses ... - Backed By Bayer

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PURPLE COW IMAGE: TELLING YOUR STORY Golfing for Kids Purple Cow winner raises awareness of autism Greg Nicoll, superintentent at Trump National Golf Club, with his <strong>son</strong>s Alec <strong>and</strong> Andrew. By Curt Harler The golf industry is one of the most giving of all businesses. All it takes is a spark to get people fired up over a good cause. Greg Nicoll, superintendent at Trump National Golf Club, Bedminster, N.J., has proven to be a heckuva spark: The flame he lit has raised hundreds of thous<strong>and</strong>s of dollars for autistic kids. Nicoll is this issue’s winner of the Purple Cow award, which is presented by Bayer Environmental Science to honor superintendents who find innovative ways to communicate the importance of their practices <strong>and</strong> their profession. For five years, Nicoll <strong>and</strong> his wife Dee’s <strong>son</strong> Alec never spoke. They started him in a special program at The Children’s Institute (TCI) in Verona, N.J., a school for autistic children. TCI is a non-profit school serving the educational <strong>and</strong> therapeutic needs of children ages 3 to 21 with learning, language <strong>and</strong> social <strong>and</strong> emotional challenges. Students at TCI struggle with such challenges every day. Teachers at TCI say the closest adults can come to experiencing autism is to imagine if their senses were all turned around. Music becomes irritating noise, soft textures feel sharp <strong>and</strong> painful to the touch, the sweetness of chocolate cake feels like you are crunching a mouthful of s<strong>and</strong>, reading is too difficult because of all the added sensory distractions <strong>and</strong> a caring h<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> hug make you feel anxious <strong>and</strong> uncomfortable rather than warm <strong>and</strong> loved. All along, the child does not underst<strong>and</strong> why he feels this way <strong>and</strong> cannot explain it to others. 28 Golf Advantage Winter 2006
Alec responded well to the school’s program. “The school unlocked him,” Nicoll says. Although close to 90 percent of TCI’s tuition is provided by local school districts, more than 10 percent of its budget — $600,000 — must be raised through fundraising efforts. Nicoll approached TCI with an idea: The TCI Golf <strong>and</strong> Tennis Invitational, a full-day golf <strong>and</strong> tennis tournament at some of New Jersey’s finest private clubs, to support TCI’s programs. The idea was politely accepted at first, with a “that’s nice” attitude. “People don’t realize that golf is the No. 1 sport that gives to charity,” Nicoll points out. A slow start The event’s first year was the big test. Information about the event was mailed to parents, <strong>and</strong> Nicoll also spread the word to local vendors. There was little initial response, <strong>and</strong> school officials worried that they would lose money on the event. Nicoll went a bit further out on the limb. “I assured them it would be a success. I told them that outings always seem to come together in the end,”he says. But, he admits, “I was a bit nervous.” He has some close friends who are superintendents.They became part of one another’s daily lives with phone calls regarding course conditioning <strong>and</strong> the weather. “I mentioned to a few of them about the event. They all knew Alec <strong>and</strong> about his condition. Then the word just spread like wildfire,” he says. “I had guys calling me about the event.We had tremendous support from our local vendors. The first year, over half of the field was involved in the golf industry.” Greg attributes a large part of the credit for the event’s initial success to the support of Maplewood’s members. “It is because of them the outing began,”he says.“They knew how much the school meant to Dee <strong>and</strong> me, <strong>and</strong> they made it <strong>work</strong> financially so the Donald Trump writes in to Bayer Golf Advantage to express his appreciation of Greg Nicoll’s fundraising efforts. The PURPLE COW Bayer is proud to present the Purple Cow Award to superintendents who find innovative <strong>and</strong> successful ways to communicate the importance of their practices <strong>and</strong> their profession to golfers <strong>and</strong> the public. In each issue of Bayer Golf Advantage, we will pay tribute to one of these leaders by featuring them in an article <strong>and</strong> awarding them 50,000 Accolade points. DO YOU KNOW A PURPLE COW? TO NOMINATE DISTINGUISHED LEADERS CONTACT US at bayergolfadvantage.com or at 800/450-0022. www.bayergolfadvantage.com Golf Advantage 29
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Mike Coker and son Troy work on golf courses ... - Backed By Bayer

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