ABOVE VIDEO:The Eastern Florida State College golf camp began in 1992 under the guidance of former Brevard Community College President Dr. Maxwell King with assistance from Wilson and Scott, two African American golf professionals in Brevard County. It continues with the support of President Dr. Jim Richey and the Board of Trustees.
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA —The 22nd annual Eastern Florida State College P.J. Wilson and Henry Scott Youth Golf Camp teed off on Monday with 56 players participating.
The 22nd annual Eastern Florida State College P.J. Wilson and Henry Scott Youth Golf Camp teed off on Monday with 56 players participating. (EFSC image)
The camp began in 1992 under the guidance of former President Dr. Maxwell King with assistance from Wilson and Scott, two African American golf professionals in Brevard County.
It continues with the support of President Dr. Jim Richey and the Board of Trustees.
Each year the attendees are schooled by instructors Roosevelt Jackson, Isaac Johnson, Eastern Florida head coach Jamie Howell and members of the college community in fundamentals of the game and lessons in life at the college’s Fred Gay Golf Academy in Cocoa.
Roosevelt Jackson
“The more you can get here, you’ll take more with you when you become a better golfer or more involved in golf,” Jackson told the players.
“Some day when you grow up if you have the opportunity to make a speech before a body of 200-300 people perhaps, you have to be prepared, you have to do your homework. This is no different here. You’ve got to pay attention.”
Jackson and other speakers including Johnson and instructors John Hughes, Doug Windham and Dexter Thomas, all Eastern Florida employees, touched on opportunity being a key part of the camp.
Jamie Howell
“Coach Hughes mentioned opportunity, absolutely,” Howell said. “This is your opportunity to get started. You get the opportunity to at least get started or take it a step farther.
“This is an opportunity for the instructors as well. This is our chance to open the door for you and step into a world that can be yours for the rest of your life.”
One of the camp beneficiaries is the 2013 camp scholarship winner Sabella Goodwin, 16, of Merritt Island, a rising senior at Merritt Island High.
SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
The scholarship covers EFSC tuition for two years, up to achieving requirements for the student to receive an Associate in Arts Degree.
Goodwin returned this year as a volunteer after participating the two previous years.
“It has meant a lot to me,” Goodwin, 16, a member of Merritt Island’s girls golf team, said of the scholarship. “It means I am doing well and that my good deeds are recognized.
“Not only do they teach a lot about golf skills, they teach you a lot of lifelong skills like respect and looking polished.”
The camp continues through Thursday and resumes June 23 through June 25. The post-camp awards ceremony will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. June 26 at the college’s Cocoa Campus.
“This is the future,” Howell said. “These are the future adults who are going to play the game. Hopefully one day when these folks are adults they’ll recognize they attended a camp and had some help and they pass it along to somebody else who is a youngster.”
“It has meant a lot to me,” Goodwin, 16, a member of Merritt Island’s girls golf team, said of the scholarship. “It means I am doing well and that my good deeds are recognized.
