Inclusion at the Heart of Sanderson All-Star Kids Clinic

Late Wednesday afternoon at The Country Club of Jackson, as the sun was dropping below the trees, a collective, enthusiastic spirit was soaring into the sky. Once again this year, the Sanderson Farms Championship and Tesori Family Foundation collaborated on the always-entertaining “All-Star Kids Clinic.” Open to children between the ages of eight and 21 living with special needs, the clinic offers opportunities for them to try golf. For many, it’s their first time.

“This is an opportunity for those here today to learn something new, and also a way for us to come to the community to let them see our friends with disabilities,” said Elizabeth Nenon, Development Director for YoungLife Capernaum, which ministers to special needs kids. “We’ve been doing this out here at the Sanderson Farms Championship for a number of years and have had many of the kids return.”

After wowing the enthusiastic contingent of onlookers with a series of full-swing, long-iron shots, PGA TOUR players Harrison Endycott, Gordon Sargent, and Tim Widing were divided among the three stations set up for the kids to pass through.

The groups made stops at stations for driving, chipping, and putting.“When we coined the term All-Star Kids Clinic, it was so they could be treated like all-stars," said Paul Tesori, longtime caddie for Webb Simpson. "We fully understand there’s nothing wrong or broken within. They have different challenges than the rest of us. And, we all have our own challenges."

Despite those different challenges, the overriding goal of these clinics is to instill feelings of inclusion. That is at the heart of what Paul and Michelle Tesori envisioned when they launched the first clinic 12 years ago. The couple’s Foundation launched in 2009 and was focused locally in Jacksonville, Florida, on senior citizens. When the couple’s son, Isaiah, was born with Down Syndrome in 2014, Paul and Michelle added the special needs kids clinics to their operation.

“About these All-Star Kids Clinics, I like to say it’s the event that allows me to give back to a game that has given me everything, including a family – that being the special needs community,” said Paul.

The Tesori Family Foundation hosts similar clinics in several states, creating more opportunities for children with special needs to experience joy, connection, and confidence through sports.

“With what they did today, Steve Jent and the Sanderson Farms Championship became the first ones to have fully taken one over, run the entire thing, and do it all,” Paul said. “That was our dream when we started this, and today’s clinic at the Sanderson Farms Championship was wildly successful. We couldn’t be happier.”

Neither could a large group of remarkable kids who kept their spirits up as the sun went down.

Contributed by Doug Milne, Sanderson Farms Championship Correspondent