Stockton Open Inaugural Tournament Benefits Youth Organizations

Photo courtesy of Asher Tour

Native Stocktonian Aram Berberian had a vision to re-establish a professional golf event right here in his hometown of Stockton, California! He set a plan in motion that would hopefully raise considerable funds for two local youth organizations that are important to the community and to him. A passionate golfer in his own right, Aram worked diligently with the Asher Tour, a professional golf organization, and his dream of producing a local tournament quickly became a reality.

the Stockton Open, hosted by Aram Berberian, was held May 31 thru June 2 at the Reserve at Spanos Park in Stockton. The three-day tournament included an impressive talented field of 72 professional golfers competing for a purse of $60,000. Peter Lansburgh was the tournament champion.

Because of generous support from sponsors, profits from the Stockton Open were shared with First Tee San Joaquin and Stockton Scholars. At the awards ceremony on June 1, the final day of the tournament, Aram presented each organization with a check of $26,000. These youth-focused organizations have shared their stories about the work they do, all of which is dependent on the generous support of the community and events such as the Stockton Open.

FIRST TEE
Since 2000, the San Joaquin Junior Golf Foundation has provided area youth with free golf lessons and equipment at their weekly golf clinics for kids ages 7 to 17. Becoming a First Tee Chapter in 2006 was a huge boost for junior golf and education in the San Joaquin Valley. The program has been fortunate to have great support from the Pacific Golf Team and former Stockton and Lincoln High School product Ricky Barnes, who stars on the PGA Tour. The First Tee program enables kids to build the strength of character that empowers them for a lifetime of new challenges. By seamlessly integrating the game of golf with a life skills curriculum, they create learning experiences that build inner strength, self-confidence, and resilience that kids carry with them in everything they do.

“As the kids will tell you, the First Tee San Joaquin is an amazing program. We hope that you will join us in continuing to open new doors for our local youth,” shared Joe Smith, executive director, First Tee San Joaquin. “Our future is bright as we work toward expanding to new venues, and we are currently working with Stockton Unified Schools to bring programs to middle schools and high schools in the Stockton area,” stated Smith. “We have already expanded into Linden Unified, and our goal is to be in as many San Joaquin County schools as possible by the end of 2024. Working with new sponsors and partners, we hope to grow our volunteer coaching numbers, which will allow us to offer more programming in
the future.”

For information about First Tee San Joaquin, visit firstteesanjoaquin.org.

STOCKTON SCHOLARS
Stockton Scholars, a program of Reinvent Stockton Foundation, is the first of its kind in the City of Stockton. They offer resources and a higher education opportunity to all eligible graduating seniors in the city. Stockton Scholars provides several options for scholarships: up to $1,000 a year, per year, to attend a four-year college or university; $500 a year, for a two-year college or trade school. Since inception, Stockton Scholars has given out over $4 million in scholarships to local students. This spring, while celebrating the class of 2023, Stockton Scholars also celebrated the very first Stockton Scholars, who are now graduating from college. Hundreds of students from the original cohort attended and were welcomed as Stockton Scholar Alumni.

Stockton Scholars is more than a scholarship program by offering students the opportunity to participate in their mentorship program, high school and college ambassador programs, summits, workshops, internships and more. “Stockton Scholars is the definition of community, radical care and support. Not only has the organization supported me financially, but also professionally, academically and personally,” said graduating Stockton Scholar Angela Estrada. “Stockton Scholars understands the dimensionality of students from Stockton and supports them holistically through mentorship and guidance. They have equipped me with the skills to speak publicly, manage projects, and tell my story. Because of the Stockton Scholars team, I have been able to explore different opportunities, and decided that I will go into higher education policy after graduating from UCLA.”

“Stockton youth are powerful, and we aim to support them in pursuing their dreams. We are proud to have a program that welcomes students interested in the trades, certification programs, two-year colleges, and four-year colleges,” said Stockton Scholars chief program officer Erika Hermosillo. “Support from our community can come in many forms. We welcome community members who want to be mentors, facilitators that will help cultivate learning experiences at our summits, and partners who can offer networking opportunities to scholars who want to start their professional journey in Stockton.”

To get involved or learn more about Stockton Scholars visit stocktonscholars.org and follow on social media @stocktonscholars.

THANK YOU
What a wonderful event for both the golf professionals and beneficiaries First Tee San Joaquin and Stockton Scholars. Aram’s vision, dedication and passion for his hometown and the game of golf paid off in a big way for all involved in this successful event! Let’s hope there is a 2nd Annual Stockton Open golf tournament in 2024!