MLI and the ITF wish to thank all our sponsors and participants for making the Legacy of Hope tournament a grand success!

The proceeds from the event far exceeded our expectations and have allowed us to pay for at least six mine-detection dogs that will be sent to Lebanon to team up with handlers assigned to the Lebanese National Demining Organization. The Legacy of Hope event generated more than $160,000 for the lifesaving dogs, with additional contributions expected over the next few weeks.

A number of U.S. organizations, corporations and celebrities supported this inaugural event.  The title sponsor was the Partnership for Lebanon (PFL), a consortium of five major U.S. corporations committed to provide critically needed resources to assist reconstruction efforts in Lebanon and to help build a better life for the Lebanese people.  PFL’s corporate founders are Ghafari Incorporated, Intel, Microsoft, Cisco Systems, and Occidental Petroleum.

 

Five professional golfers from the U.S. Champions tour lent their time and humanitarian interest to the event.  They were Jim Colbert, a winner of 32 events on both the Champions and PGA tours, former U.S. Amateur champion Jay Sigel, who has won eight-times on the senior circuit; six-time winner and former U.S. Senior Open Champion, Dave Eichelberger; Graham Marsh, winner of 65 professional events around the world; and Walter Hall, who has won over $6.5 million in his professional career. 

Colbert, who served as the Master of Ceremonies for the dinner following the golf tournament, called the event’s purpose a “very worthy humanitarian cause” and said he and the other professional golfers were proud to be a part of the event.

 

Also contributing time and talent to the evening’s dinner was actor Michael O’Keefe, who starred in the role of Danny Noonan in the 1980 hit movie Caddyshack.  More recently, O’Keefe starred in last year’s Academy-Award nominated film, Michael Clayton. O’Keefe, who was accompanied by fellow actor Meg Foster proved to be quite entertaining in his role as presenter of the trophies and other prizes awarded during the evening.

 

Lebanese singer Tony Khalife provided the evening’s entertainment, backed up by local musician Scott Smith and Croatian singer Julija Zonic, who now lives in the Ojai, California area.

 

His Excellency Antoine Chedid, Ambassador of Lebanon to the United States, presented the keynote address for the dinner.  He thanked the Marshall Legacy Institute and the International Trust Fund for their generous contributions to Lebanon’s demining program and expressed his strong wish for peace in the region and around the world.