In 1991, Sondra Anderson and Mary Blair decided to raise money for a charity.  Originally they considered a two day tennis tournament sponsored by Virginia Slim.  After some thought, it was decided against that idea because smoking and its effects were becoming major concerns.

After reading an article in USA Today about Heather Farr passing away from breast cancer they decided right then and there it would be something to do with golf and would benefit the WCA Cancer Care Program.  Both Sandy and Mary were on the Board at WCA Hospital at the time.  They just needed to decide how to go about putting the tournament together.

R. Quintus Anderson and Amory Houghton went to the Corning Classic and both came back and said that the tournament was great and that Sandy and Mary should do something similar.

Sandy and Mary called Lee Robbins, the event planner, and asked if they could spend some time with him and get some ideas.  Lee invited the ladies to Corning.  After their meeting it was decided - LINKS CHARITY was formed.

Lee Robbins came to Jamestown to meet with Sandy, Mary, Quint, Allen Short and others.  Lee, Corning Glass’ Chief Pilot and Executive Director of The Corning Classic was also on the Board of Directors of the LPGA in Florida.  He said that a “scramble” type format was perfect for what we wanted to do.  It was decided to go with it.

The event needed someone to run it.  Allen Short was asked if he would be interested in working in the tournament, he said, “very much so”.  He was then asked how involved he would like to be and he agreed to be the Executive Director.

Allen Short flew to Florida to meet with Nancy Rubin, a member and player in the LPGA.  They discussed setting up the tournament fundamentals, prices and pros.

Sandy and Mary had gone to Corning to watch a pro-am and the driveway to the clubhouse was lined with signs naming all the previous winners of the main tournament.  Bingo!  Line the Drive was born.  The driveway to Moon Brook Country Club has signs lining the way from various friends and businesses supporting the charity.  Today there are approximately 170 signs that ‘line the drive’ the day of the tournament - a great idea that has raised thousands of dollars.

Committees of volunteers were formed to handle:  Line the Drive, prizes, refreshments, transportation, LPGS pros, etc.

The first tournament was held in 1992 with Amory Houghton and Lee Robbins accepting invitations to play.  Shelley Hamlin, LPGA Pro and breast cancer survivor, participated to help support the cause.

The first three years LINKS CHARITY did not have a Major Sponsor.  In 1995, North American Health Plans became the first Major Sponsor.  They remained our Major Sponsor until 1998.  In 2000, M & T Bank, NA became a Major Sponsor and continued until 2004.  In 2005, Lincoln Financial Group and Hanys Business Services along with Magic Carpets were the Major Sponsors.  Our current Major Sponsor since 2006 is Truck-Lite Company, Inc.  Truck-Lite and it’s visionaries, Brian Kupchella, President and Brad Van Riper, Vice-President Research & Development have taken LINKS CHARITY to a new level of fund raising.  Under their guidance our annual contribution to the WCA Cancer Care Program has doubled!

In 1993 Donna Wilkins, LPGA Pro, assumed the responsibility of coordinating the LPGA Pros for each tournament.  In 2008 she accepted a job with the LPGA in Florida.  Along with her new position with the LGPA she was allowed to keep two pro-am tournaments outside of the traditional LPGA events – LINKS CHARITY was fortunate to be chosen as one she will continue to handle!

In 2007, two new events were added to the program.  A Monday night dinner with a Silent Auction that was very well received and raised additional funds and a Tuesday tournament featuring a golf clinic put on by LPGA Pros.

The LPGA Pros love to come to Jamestown, New York and we have no problem getting most of the same pros to return.  Mary Bryan, ESPN Golf Analyst, looks forward to participating each year.

LINKS CHARITY is very proud that with this year’s events and donation we will have contributed over half a million dollars to the WCA Cancer Care Program!!

We’d like to welcome two additional Major Sponsors for 2008: United Refining and Cummins Engine!     We look forward to a great year of raising funds and a phenomenal time on the greens!

If you are interested in more information on sponsorship and/or donating, please contact Barbara Brown, silent auction chair, @ 716-661-1265 or email at bbrown@truck-lite.com