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

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