PIANJ, Special Olympics Prove a Winning Combo
It may share the plot line of the Warner Brothers’ flick, Pay it Forward, where the characters discover the joy of parlaying one good deed into another, exponentially affecting the world for the better. But art is imitating life, because for 21 years the Professional Insurance Agents of New Jersey Inc. (PIANJ) has been “playing it forward,” using a golf game to pass on the thrill of sports competition to the state’s residents served by Special Olympics New Jersey.
“This isn’t just another charity golf tournament—the commitment runs much deeper,” explained Steve Reichman, executive vice president of the NIA Group, past president of PIANJ, chair of the Golf Classic committee and board member of Special Olympics New Jersey. “After a 21-year relationship, PIANJ is fully committed to the growth and success of Special Olympics New Jersey.”
Reichman’s level of commitment echoes the fervor that began the partnership between PIANJ, a trade association representing independent agencies and brokerages throughout New Jersey, and Special Olympics New Jersey, whose mission is to provide free sports training and competition to the state’s children and adults with intellectual disabilities. In the early 1980s, PIANJ leaders were searching for a cause to support. They knew they’d found it when Linda Halpern set their intentions ablaze with the Special Olympic torch.
At that time, Special Olympics New Jersey was a small operation with only three employees. Halpern, one of the three, had a keen understanding of the snowball concept inherent in “playing it forward.” She didn’t ask PIANJ to simply sell tickets to her organization’s fundraisers or just to provide volunteers to man a booth at the Special Olympics Summer Games. Instead, she asked PIANJ to use its business contacts to get more people involved, who would get others involved, who would get even more involved.
PIANJ hit the ground running on behalf of Special Olympics New Jersey. But if there were any doubts, Halpern unwittingly erased them when—a couple months after first meeting with PIANJ—she was struck and killed by an automobile as she was leaving a New York University course on fund-raising. Her accident was announced just before a New Jersey Nets basketball game, the very first Special Olympics fund-raiser since PIANJ had signed on with Special Olympics.
In Halpern’s memory, the flame burned even brighter at PIANJ. And, in 1984, PIANJ inaugurated the Golf Classic, held that year at Navesink Country Club in Middletown, N.J. At the time, its $7,000 profit broke Special Olympics New Jersey fund-raising totals for a one-day event.
During the next two decades, the Golf Classic was refined. The event’s hallmarks now include play at a different prestigious New Jersey club each year; a raffle of foursomes at a variety of New Jersey country clubs; and a celebrity guest—usually a Professional Golf Association professional.
The Golf Classic’s success is anchored by an event sponsor. Mercer Insurance Group has answered the call since 2001 and past event sponsors include ARI Insurance Cos., Highlands Insurance Group, Vik Brothers Insurance Group and American Reliance Insurance Co.
“Recent world affairs only emphasize the importance now of stepping forward to reinforce the good in what surrounds us,” said John Danka, vice president of marketing at Mercer Insurance Group and senior member of the Golf Classic committee.
Meanwhile, true to the idea of “playing it forward,” support for Special Olympics New Jersey spread from PIANJ to its pool of future leaders in the New Jersey Young Insurance Professionals, which began its own fund-raiser—the 5K Fun Run—in 1985. Those proceeds, combined with the profit from the Golf Classic, go in full to support Special Olympics New Jersey.
“PIANJ Golf Classic has been a growing success for more than 20 years because it taps the heart of the insurance community,” Reichman said.
Special Olympic athletes play a part in the Golf Classic, teeing off at one of the holes with each of the golfer registrants. It is thanks to PIANJ and the Golf Classic that golf even figures into sports offered by Special Olympics. It started at the 1985 Golf Classic when the first Special Olympic athlete participated in a golf exhibition. From there, Special Olympics New Jersey introduced golf as one of its sports. Golf became a Special Olympics sport at the national level in 1987.
For more than two decades, the Golf Classic and Fun Run events have raised more than $1.6 million and have sent 2,000 special athletes to the Summer Games competition; provided 6,000 special athletes with a season of league play in a variety of sports; and uniformed 10,000 athletes for one season of training and competition.
“But what does the fiscal and personal-level support from PIANJ—one of our premier corporate sponsors—really mean?” asked Marc Edenzon, president of Special Olympics New Jersey. “It distills down to that spark of determination in the eyes of the special athlete facing a challenge, that a smile on her lips when a race is well run and that great feeling knowing he’s part of the larger community of all athletes.”
The Golf Classic comes of age this year, celebrating its 21st year at Sea Oaks Golf Club, Little Egg Harbor, N.J., Monday, Sept. 13.
For information on sponsorships and golfer registration, call (800) 424-4244 or visit www.piaonline.org, and type YP10017 in the Quick-Link box.
Kristi Carr is senior event planner for the Professional Insurance Agents of New Jersey Inc. (PIANJ). Information on the PIANJ is available online at www.piaonline.org.