Episode #26: 100 Holes in a Day: Myrtle Beach Patriots Raise Over $140K For Military Families 10/15/2020

Meredith: Welcome to episode 26 of the Gimme Golf Podcast powered by myrtlebeachgolftrips.com. I'm your host, Meredith Kirk. Make sure to rate and subscribe to our podcast. Let us know what you think. Can you imagine playing 100 holes of golf in a day? Well, a group of Myrtle Beach Patriots did it again this year and raised over $140,000 for military families
Meredith: I'm joined by Jimmy Biggs, PGA head golf professional from Pine Lakes Country Club, who represents the Myrtle Beach Patriots, a group that raises money each year for the Folds of Honor foundation. We are here in History Hall at Myrtle Beach's first golf course, Pine Lakes Country Club, referred to as the Granddaddy. Great to be joined by PGA head golf professional here at Pine Lakes Country Club, Jimmy Biggs. Jimmy, thanks for taking the time out and coming on the show today.
Jimmy: Meredith, it's great to have you here.
Meredith: Well, I want to talk to you about being a member of the Myrtle Beach Patriots, and also your recent event that you host over Labor Day weekend, the 100 holes in a day. A lot to talk about. So tell me, first off, a little bit about your involvement with the Myrtle Beach Patriots.
Jimmy: So the Patriots we got started back in 2014. That was our first year. Of course, the Folds of Honor foundation, which we fundraise for, started back in 2007. But we really got going in 2014, just a few area pros. We wanted to do something a little more than the traditional coffee can on the counter at the pro shops. So we'd watched some area professionals in the area do a marathon and we thought, "Man, that'd be kind of cool."
Jimmy: And got together with a couple of sales reps who were interested in the foundation, and they throw in some stuff. And we contacted some of our members and say, "Hey, we're going to go play a hundred holes in a day." And that number itself for any golfer is like, "Wow, a hundred in a day. It's like I'm bushed after 18 holes. How are you going to play a hundred?" So the reason we chose that number is because it would start the conversation as to why are you doing this? And we could explain the mission of the Folds of Honor. And that's morphed into here we are, seven years later, and over a half million dollars raised for our military families.
Meredith: That's amazing. Now this money goes to the military families. Does it go to the children and their education? Is that...
Jimmy: That's correct. Yeah. So it goes in the form of Folds of Honor scholarships are awarded in $5,000 increments. And a great thing about this foundation is the dollars that do go back is, I believe, it's 89 cents of every dollar collected, it goes back to the charity. So they're very efficient in how they operate. There is no waste out there. And these recipient families are extremely grateful, and they're very successful. You can go onto their website, foldsofhonor.com, and they have a million videos of successful stories and families.
Jimmy: But it's a constant battle, right? There's so many families out there, a lot of applicants who don't get funded. And I think last year, there was over 500 families that did not get funding, even though they were qualified.
Meredith: Right.
Jimmy: So there wasn't enough, even though we've raised so much every year. And our mission as the Patriots is to try to close that gap every year. But you're talking-
Meredith: Are you seeing that gap being closed [crosstalk 00:03:51].
Jimmy: It is being closed. I think the year prior was about 700 families.
Meredith: Okay. That's good.
Jimmy: So we're narrowing that gap and we're close. And there's been a lot of people step up in the years to help with that. And no more so than this year. We're in a pandemic and people...
Meredith: Right.
Jimmy: If you told me back in March that we were going to beat our fundraising from last year, I would have said you're crazy. But people still need to help. And maybe that's why they did help is because they knew these military families need it more now than ever.
Meredith: Right.
Jimmy: They're losing jobs as well.
Meredith: That spirit of community, coming together during the pandemic.
Jimmy: Yes, yes.
Meredith: Well, that's great that you guys were still able to have it. And you raised over 140,000 this year?
Jimmy: Oh, we'll be at over 140,000 by the end of this year. We're still collecting funds from our Labor Day event. But we do events throughout the year. This year, we did just a cornhole tournament, just a fun night. Had got a bunch of guys and girls together, had a big tournament out there at Pine Lakes Country Club in our back courtyard there. It was a fun little event.
Jimmy: We're working on actually a motorcycle rally right now. Something we know nothing about, but we said, "You know what? We got to get more people involved, not just our golf community." And this Folds of Honor, this military foundation, it has far-reaching... It's not all golfers, right? The Patriot Golf Day got started in golf to benefit Folds of Honor.
Meredith: Right.
Jimmy: But there's so many more people who are appreciative of our military, the sacrifices they make. So yeah, we're working on a motorcycle rally right now. So that's definitely a new pond to dip into, but we'll see how it goes.
Meredith: Well, I can definitely picture you in the motorcycle gear, the leather jacket-
Jimmy: [crosstalk 00:05:35] The chaps. Yeah.
Meredith: Yeah. Oh, yeah.
Jimmy: I feel like you've got something there. That's...
Nate: Do you have a bike?
Jimmy: I do not have a bike. I've never stepped-
Nate: You're going to have to get on that.
Jimmy: I've never even sat on a motorcycle. But yes. Mike Bender from Ahead USA, he's one of our big sponsors and he's a bike rider. It was actually his idea. He wanted to get something going. So I'm kind of letting him run with that, but-
Meredith: Well, maybe you could do that during Bike Week here in Myrtle Beach. Just kind of add that in. There's going to be so many bikes and who knows? You might be able to raise more funds at some of these local bars and drinking houses.
Jimmy: Absolutely. Absolutely.
Nate: [crosstalk 00:06:11] They could get some Finn scooters.
Meredith: That's right. Yeah.
Nate: Do the Finn scooters.
Jimmy: We can have a scooter ride.
Nate: There you go.
Jimmy: That feels like more my style.
Meredith: Yeah. Have you tried the scooters?
Jimmy: I've not tried the scooters, but-
Meredith: Jimmy, it's amazing.
Jimmy: I haven't been on a scooter since I was probably seven, Meredith. But I'm all for it, if it's going to raise money for our recipient families. But yeah. It's just something new. We're trying to think more out of the box this year in particular, just because we weren't really allowed to do so many things that we'd done traditionally in the past.
Jimmy: We weren't allowed to do the dinner this year. We weren't allowed to do our tournament. We could've done the tournament, but we found that we had to make so many sacrifices for regulations and safety. And we just felt like the event wasn't the same event that we've been presenting in the past. It wasn't the uber patriotic rah-rah style that we've done. And we just didn't want to have that without being able to present what the Battle For Glory was. So having to water that down just didn't feel right for us. So we moved past it and that's why we went straight with the marathon model this year.
Meredith: Right.
Jimmy: That 100-hole marathon is always a good topic for everybody.
Nate: So you started that at... I was reading back the history. You started that at 200 holes, right?
Jimmy: No. So in 2014, we did it and we raised 16,000 that year in our first year. So the following year we were very ambitious. We said we want to double that. Let's see if we can get to 32,000. And the only way we knew how to do it at that time was, well, what if we played 200 holes in two days?
Nate: Oh man.
Jimmy: We played a hundred holes at Sandpiper Bay, and we actually played about 85 holes at Crow Creek the following day. Now-
Nate: Dang.
Jimmy: ... I can tell you that generally you are exhausted after playing a hundred holes, but having to get up the following morning and say, "I'm going to do this again," was very taxing.
Nate: Oh my gosh.
Jimmy: And I think there was-
Meredith: It sounds like golf purgatory.
Jimmy: Yes, it was... You're always kind of that initial first swing, you're, "Wow, I'm still stiff." Well, after playing a hundred, yeah, you're very stiff. I don't think I got it past belt high on the backswing all day.
Nate: So there's no going to the range prior to warmup.
Jimmy: No, there was no warm ups. There were no rolling putts. There was nothing. It was kind of like let's just go out and do this.
Meredith: And I want to ask you about the scoring of this. So what happens if off the tee, you hit it in the water. How do you play that? Do you just get to pick up?
Jimmy: It depends on how people pledged you. So we have people pledge for pars, pledge for birdies, pledge for eagles, or maybe they just pledge for holes you played. And some people-
Meredith: Do they pledge for doubles?
Jimmy: Yeah. I mean, if they say, "Hey, you played a hundred holes, and I'll pledge you a dollar for every hole you play." You say, "All right. Well, I'll go and play."
Nate: That's where I'd have to be.
Jimmy: Myself this year, I got pledged-
Meredith: Then you play every hole.
Jimmy: Exactly. You make sure you play it. And technically, you tee off and that's it. But, again, yeah. The way I've done it, I had pledges for pars this year, so I played it out as much as I could for pars. But I always have a challenge for myself. I always want to see what I would actually shoot in a hundred holes.
Nate: I saw your scorecard. It was amazing. [crosstalk 00:09:40].
Jimmy: I hit it as good as I've ever hit it-
Nate: Wow.
Jimmy: ... in all the years of doing these marathons. Last year, I did not play as well at Long Bay. I made a birdie on the hundredth hole to shoot even par for the hundred.
Meredith: That's amazing.
Jimmy: So this year, I just hit it way back... I managed to figure out how to hit my driver between hole 19 and 30. And that just stuck with me for the rest of the day. I could-
Meredith: So what was the technique?
Jimmy: I had to drop my shoulder a little bit. My shoulders were open, so I dropped my shoulder a little bit and I was able to start releasing it instead of-
Meredith: On the up?
Jimmy: ... hold on, fade. And at that point I could tell you what divot I was aiming at. I was just-
Meredith: That's amazing.
Jimmy: ... locked in at that point. So that was fun. I probably could have made a few more putts, but I was determined that a certain putt on number three at River's Edge was going to break left and it never broke left. Not three times that I had it, from ten, eight and seven feet did it break left.
Meredith: Now, do you spend the same amount of time lining up your putts as you would if you were out just playing 18? Or are you a little bit quicker?
Jimmy: So the first time around, yes you do. You spend just as much time. But the second, third, fourth and fifth time, you know what that putt does. So you kind of give it a quick glance and then go for it. And it's the same thing with your initial round. The adrenaline is flowing through you at that point, so you're really going quick, but you're also trying to notice where the pin location is. So the next time around, okay, I can get this thing. I need to stay on the right side of that pin. I can't be left or I need to stay short or I need to be long.
Jimmy: So you're always looking at that as an observation. But as far as the speed goes, you're always moving fast and everyone's got their own cart. So we've been social distancing for seven years now. We just didn't know that was...
Meredith: That worked out well.
Jimmy: That worked out pretty well. But yeah. We've all got our own carts. So we have, again, you're shooting the yardages that initial time, like all the par threes that we're not changing the pin out there, so it's going to be that yardage all day. So you just check the wind and go up there and fire. So if it was a nine iron at 7:00 in the morning, it's probably still a nine iron at 6:00 at night.
Meredith: Right.
Jimmy: Depending on how you're feeling.
Meredith: So when do you eat?
Jimmy: You eat as you go. I always tell the guys to bring a cooler, a quick bite protein bars, fruit, whatever. Some guys go a different route. They'll have a few beers in there or a Gatorade, but whatever gets you through the day. I mentioned Mike Bender. He always says that he only needs three things. That's a pack of smokes, a thing of cherry Pop Tarts, and a two liter of Pepsi.
Nate: Oh my gosh.
Jimmy: That's his go-to every year. So whatever gets you through and gets you to that hundredth hole, that's the key.
Meredith: Yeah. How do you recruit all of these golf professionals to get out there and play a hundred holes with you?
Jimmy: I got to tell you, we haven't done really much recruiting in the last three years. Initially, we just talked to the guys and said, "How would you like to come out and do this?" And then we started to realize that just about every golfer will go out and play a hundred holes in a day and say, "Hey, I would like to try that. Let's go."
Jimmy: But at some point, we needed to raise the level, let our guys earn it. And since we've been doing this, the last few years, people have come to us saying, "Hey, Jimmy. I'd really like to do that." And our answer, all of our answers is the same. If you raise a certain amount of money for Folds, then you have earned the spot to call yourself a Myrtle Beach Patriot and play in the 100-hole marathon. Years past, it was 3,000. This year, we dropped it down to 1,500 to get some of our guys past that hump just because we were worried with COVID.
Meredith: So you say the 1,500, that's just in pledges.
Jimmy: That's-
Meredith: So they go out and start pledging that they want to do this. And then when they get that $1,500 mark, then they're in.
Jimmy: Correct. Yes. So they will collect donations. Probably we usually start right around Independence Day, so that's a good two months start. You send out all the information requesting for donations, and they all know... They're telling their pledges or their beneficiaries, "Hey, I need to raise... I would like to play a hundred holes of golf for the Folds to Honor foundation. In order to do that, I need to raise $3,000. And with your help, I can play."
Jimmy: And then once you raise that 3,000, that's when you start going out and getting your pledges for the marathon. So it's like, all right, we've done it. Now, we get to have fun. Because you have to have fun. If you're playing a hundred holes of golf-
Meredith: Right.
Jimmy: I tell everyone you go out and play 18 and you miss a couple putts and, "God, I wish I could have putt... I would have played so good if I putt better today."
Meredith: Right.
Jimmy: Well, imagine doing that five and a half times. Missing that many putts will mentally drain you. And it's certainly emotionally. So the pledge is make it fun. So you know that every time I'm lining up that birdie putt, again, if I have 10 people that have given me... Or better yet, if I have a hundred people that have given me a buck per birdie, now that birdie putt's worth a hundred dollars.
Meredith: That's a great incentive.
Jimmy: I'm going to keep grinding to get those birdies. So that's what we really put a lot of our effort into this year. And the guys did a great job. One guy you guys all know, Yoshi Yamamoto over at Myrtlewood Golf Club, hell of a golfer. There was, I believe, his chiropractor pledged him $10 a birdie and $20 an eagle. And I'm like-
Meredith: Oh, mercy.
Jimmy: ... "Does he know what he just did?" He's going to get hurt. And of course Yoshi went out and had 35 birdies and five eagles or something like that.
Nate: He's an amazing player.
Jimmy: With a bad back. He actually couldn't walk that morning.
Meredith: Oh my goodness.
Nate: So hopefully he donated an adjustment too.
Jimmy: I would hope so. I would hope so.
Meredith: Wow. Have you ever had a female play in this?
Jimmy: We have. We had Paige Cribb, our former Carolinas PGA president here. She played, I believe, it was 2017. That was the year I proposed to my wife. Paige was there.
Meredith: Aww. Wait. Where did you propose to your wife at?
Jimmy: At the completion of the 2017 100-hole marathon.
Meredith: At the completion?
Jimmy: At the completion.
Meredith: Did you have any energy to celebrate that night?
Jimmy: Oh, I did. I did. I mean, we literally celebrated with a pizza, or I should say I... I ate a whole pizza. The family had the rest of the other pizza.
Meredith: Well, that's romantic.
Jimmy: Yeah, wasn't it? So I knew the only people that knew that day was my father-in-law and Nancy Benson, our photographer and Mike Benson's wife. She's been with us since day one as well. But I showed her the ring like halfway through the round. I was like, "Hey, Nancy. Look." And she's like, "Oh my god." And I was like, "Not a word." I said, "At the end." She's like, "Okay."
Meredith: So where did you propose? Number 18?
Jimmy: So if you're familiar with River's Edge, the back of the clubhouse faces the 18th and 9th green, and in the backdrop is the Shallotte River. It's a beautiful landscape. Awesome. And we had just finished the hundred holes. All of us just finish up. The light is starting to dim a little bit. And I was making an announcement to all the members out there at River's Edge that we accomplished our goals. And I think we raised about 84,000 that year. And I said, "And finally." And I turned around and got down on one knee [crosstalk 00:00:17:18].
Meredith: Were you nervous?
Jimmy: I was. I was terrified.
Meredith: I bet you were.
Jimmy: My heart was going through the roof. And Erin was right there. And I think she was taping because it was the end of the Folds thing. And I think she threw her phone straight up in the air and like two people behind her went to catch the phone because she just threw it up. It was a great moment. But-
Nate: So you're lucky there. You raised a lot of money. And she said yes.
Jimmy: And she said yes.
Nate: Yes, okay.
Jimmy: So it was a really big accomplishment that year. But... Yeah, Paige was there. I have a great picture of that. And Paige is in the background jumping up. High fives.
Meredith: Aww. Paige is awesome.
Nate: You had to be nervous all day, one for your golf game and you knowing that this was going to [crosstalk 00:17:54].
Jimmy: I knew it was coming, and I actually kind of... Erin and I had been dating for a while then. And I actually knew the year prior that that's when I was going to do it, was-
Nate: Cool. Very cool.
Jimmy: ... at the end of the marathon. Erin's always been a good sport about that. She knows I'm stressed at least a solid month prior to that. And she's always been supportive of me. So I love you, babe.
Meredith: She's very sweet, very beautiful. You did very well.
Jimmy: Thank you. Thank you.
Meredith: So if somebody wants to contribute to the Myrtle Beach Patriots or get on board... I mean, obviously we know the process if they're a professional golfer. Or do you take people that are not professionals?
Jimmy: Absolutely.
Meredith: Okay.
Jimmy: As far as we're concerned, Meredith, if they want to play in the 100-hole marathon, it's the same rules that apply for them. If they can raise... This year, this coming year 2021, it will be back to $5,000. In order to participate in the 100-hole marathon, you need to raise $5,000, which is a scholarship. So-
Meredith: Right.
Jimmy: ... that's how we're going to bill it, essentially is that you need to go raise money for a recipient family. And if you can do that and you've got all year. Unfortunately, sometimes guys wait till the last minute to do it, but you're not going to be able to do that for a $5,000 number.
Meredith: Right.
Jimmy: This year, if you raise $5,000, whoever you are. And I know we've got multiple people who are not PGA golf professionals, and they raised the money and they get it done. So as long as you raise the money or maybe you put your own money up, as far as we're concerned, as long as you have $5,000 to give to Folds of Honor, you can play in the 100-hole marathon.
Meredith: Just show me the money.
Jimmy: Show me the money. That's right. Show them the money.
Meredith: Yeah, show them the money. No, I think it's great. I would love to see that gap close for you in 2021. Wouldn't that be amazing?
Jimmy: I mean, I'm baffled at... I'm not baffled. I'm just, I guess, I'm more motivated now that what we've accomplished this year during COVID. Now, I'm kind of really looking to the sky. We had a discussion in Orlando at the PGA Show in January. We were watching different.... I'm trying to say who... We had Titleist up there donating $150,000 cheque to Folds of Honor, and they got on stage. And we were....
Meredith: Oh, wow.
Jimmy: I remember having a chat with Matt Daly, our director of golf here, and Matt's like, "Well, we did 131. So we only need to get 19,000 and we're on stage." And I said, "You know what, Matt? You're right. I think that's our goal." And then obviously March and COVID hit, and we didn't know what we were going to be able to do this year. But now we're looking... All right, how do we get 200,000? That's our goal next year is $200,000.
Meredith: That's a great goal.
Nate: Your numbers speak for themselves. I mean, when you look at that $131,000 that you raised in 2019, which got you to $400,000 total. And now with this 140, you're over a half a million dollars-
Jimmy: Half a million dollars.
Nate: ... If you think about that, that's just amazing to me.
Jimmy: Yeah, so we... I'd be lying... I tell Mike Bender this all the time. I said, "I want to get to that million dollar number." I thought it was going to take us three, four years. And I think we'll get it by 2022.
Nate: Really?
Jimmy: I think if we get our 200 next year, which I believe we will, and we're learning a lot of new ways to fundraise. And I think we'll crack a million by the end of '22.
Meredith: Wow.
Jimmy: Which is exciting.
Meredith: That's an outstanding feat. It really is.
Nate: Well, if you look at... Good things that come out of having to change and manipulate like the Cornell tournament you did, which you probably would never have done had you not been able to have the tournament. So it does get you inventive ways to do things differently, right?
Jimmy: Absolutely. And with so many new people coming on this year, I'll go back to the ocean and Dustin Powers over at Myrtlewood. Dustin, this is his second year. But he contacted me probably three weeks prior to the marathon and said, "Hey. Yosh would like to do it as well." And I was like, "Well, you know the drill, Dustin. If he can get 1,500, he's in." And he did. They hosted a tournament up... They did a skins game and was able to raise an insane amount of cash last minute and did it.
Jimmy: And I said, "That's the type of things, guys, we can do all year." The Cornell tournament was meant more as a fun thing for the Patriots. Hey, we've done a good job. We did it again. And then it turned into, wow, we could do these all the time. This is kind of fun. And I laughed. I had a good restaurant day that day. Everyone had plenty of adult beverages that night. So it worked out very well.
Jimmy: But creating all sorts of new events, even outside of golf. And that's where we're at. We're always looking at different things and the guys are really great about coming up with new ideas. Casey Cook, the director of retail here at Founders, he's got a good program with our Folds of Honor hats. And we're lucky enough at Founders Group to be able to pledge a certain amount per hat that's sold. And we did this two years ago and raised almost $7,000.
Meredith: It's almost two scholarships.
Jimmy: Exactly, exactly. So I think Casey's come up with a new program this year that might net us even more than that. Maybe even triple that. So we're really excited about that. So the guys are thinking of multiple ways. It's all going back to that goal of 200,000, because we all know we're going for 200,000, so we know we need to get started January 1.
Meredith: That's great. So for those listening, if you want to donate, can they go to... Is there a website for the Myrtle Beach Patriots? If somebody just says, "Hey, I don't want to participate in this. I want to give, whether I'm giving to a golf pro to pledge or just give so you can reach your financial goals for these families." Where can they go?
Jimmy: Well, they can always go to Folds of Honor, but if they... The easiest way I've found is to type in Myrtle Beach Patriots on Google. And it will... The first page at the top is our page. They click on that and it'll say donate now. And you'll see a list of all my names and the rest of the guys. You can click on each individual name if you know one of the professionals or one of the Patriots, and you want to donate towards their total. It all goes into the same bucket.
Meredith: Right.
Jimmy: But if you would just like to donate there, again, 89 cents of every dollar goes into Folds of Honor scholarships.
Meredith: That's exciting. I think I want to play next year.
Nate: There you go.
Jimmy: $5,000.
Meredith: Five thousand bucks, I know. I'm thinking right now.
Jimmy: That's a lot of lessons.
Meredith: That's a lot of lessons.
Jimmy: That's a lot of lessons.
Meredith: Well, if I take proceeds from every lesson starting now-
Jimmy: Correct. Correct.
Meredith: ... it may be a possibility.
Jimmy: I knew Zach Atkinson over at Burning Ridge came up with the idea that we do a Folds of Honor teaching day. Maybe you could participate in that, where we would basically lock up someone's driving range from 8:00 in the morning to 5:00 at night, and say that every lesson, all lesson proceeds from that day will go to Folds of Honor. So very easily could raise $5,000 if we got 10 or 12 golf professionals out there giving lessons all day. Be a great way to raise that money.
Meredith: That's a great idea.
Jimmy: Yeah.
Meredith: It really is. See, there's so many great ideas.
Jimmy: Right? Right?
Meredith: Okay, this is... You have me motivated because I love helping people. And knowing that these scholarships are going to these amazing families, that's just gratifying at the end of the day. It really is. Life is more about giving than receiving. And I think it's great what you're doing, so kudos to you and your team. I mean, outstanding. Seven years now you've been doing this.
Jimmy: Seven years and you hit the nail on the head, Meredith. It's about helping, particularly these families who've sacrificed probably more than anybody. And what we're doing is hopefully giving them a little hope and easing some of that pain because they have made the ultimate sacrifice.
Meredith: Right.
Jimmy: So that's what it's all about is helping them out and letting them know that they're not alone. They don't have to do it by themselves.
Meredith: Right.
Jimmy: That the PGA of America and the Myrtle Beach Patriots, Jimmy Biggs, Meredith Kirk, we have your back. We're not going to turn our back on you.
Meredith: Yeah. We don't want to see them falling through the cracks with the efforts that their families put in. And I mean, even my oldest son, he's in the Navy right now. He has not been able to fly home because of COVID restrictions. They just have not allowed any of the sailors to come home. So he has not been home since December. We can't go out and see him because that puts us in a two-week quarantine. We can't with our work schedule. So they may or may not be able to come home for Christmas, depending on how COVID is, especially when he's out in California right now.
Meredith: So sometimes it's not just... I mean, obviously going to war and dealing with deployments, that's very challenging. It's very hard on families because of that separation and the sacrifices that they're making. But even now with COVID, I don't think people realize the sacrifices military is making right now. They're not allowed to come home. And it's challenging. I mean, my son right now, he's out in the middle of the Pacific. And they have to quarantine before they go, they have to quarantine when they get back. And it's very isolating.
Meredith: And I just think sometimes the mental stress of the military, the pressures that these people undergo for our sake, for our freedom, so we can freely get in our car in the morning and drive to work safely and we're protected. It's so easy to forget just the simpleness of just us having our freedom. So, I mean, these families are amazing. And I'm just seeing my young son go through just a very, very bleep on the radar issue with this COVID, which is nothing compared to obviously a deployment and whatnot.
Meredith: But still, they make sacrifices every day. And for people like you and other golf professionals and people driving motorcycles, however you raise the money, all these different types of walks of life coming together to give money to these people let's them know that they're validated in their efforts of the sacrifice of what they've done with their families.
Meredith: They need to know that. They need to know that the sacrifices if they have a mom or dad that served and them not being able to see their parents for a year. My brother was a 20-year veteran, retired from the military. He did five deployments, has three sons. They went periods of time when he was in war, and he actually was in war and was bombed and had a traumatic brain injury, but he's recovered from it.
Meredith: I saw what his kids went through, and it's hard not having a dad at home. So when these kids get scholarships, it's like, "Hey, this is what my dad's efforts helped get me this. Our sacrifices that we made helped to get to this point." And that way they can view the military saying, "Hey, we were taken care of, not just from the military, but from our community, the people that appreciate our freedom."
Meredith: So anyway, there's my little speech on that, because I just think it's so great what you're doing. And I definitely want to try to get on board. I think your idea with having a teaching day. Maybe we can get more teaching professionals in on 2021. Let's get to the 200,000 goal, because you've motivated me. And I totally respect what you guys are doing.
Meredith: So thanks again for taking the time to come on the podcast. And I hope that this has been informative for our listeners. And you can go Google Myrtle Beach Patriots, like Jimmy said, it's going to be the first website. Go on there, click on Jimmy Biggs. Click on his name, because he's taken the time out with us this morning here at Pine Lakes Country Club. Donate to Jimmy, then Jimmy can share that money and help me reach my fat $5,000 goal so I can actually play [inaudible 00:29:45]. But anything else that you would like to add to this podcast is we're just letting our listeners know what you're doing here in Myrtle Beach for these military families.
Jimmy: Well, first of all, again, thank you for having me on, Meredith. And what I would say, the Myrtle Beach Patriots were born to close the gap of the unfunded military families that are well-qualified. Obviously, we'd like to help all our military, but I mean, ultimately it would cost almost $9 billion to fund every military dependent that's out there. And that's a massive number. And I assure you, and I hope long past the time that I'm gone, that the Myrtle Beach Patriots are still going, because that means we're still helping our military families.
Jimmy: And that's what the Patriots have hopefully created in Myrtle Beach is that we've created an outlet to help your military families. Not all of us can strap on body armor and go into a war zone. But we can stay home here and play golf and enjoy the freedom that is provided to us by the sacrifices of our military. So hopefully people can jump on board and help. Even if you don't play golf, maybe you ride a bike, maybe you play corn hole, whatever. We have a bunch of outlets for you to help your military and let them know that you have their back.
Meredith: Thanks, Jimmy, so much.