Butler golf club professional honored at Luke Donald's Taste of the First Tee
Leaders of the First Tee of Greater Chicago had a clear choice in deciding the first recipient of their Distinguished Service Award.
Bruce Patterson received the honor Monday night during the "Taste of the First Tee," a wine-tasting event and fundraiser hosted by former world No. 1 golfer and Northwestern star Luke Donald at Medinah County Club. It's a fitting recognition for Patterson, long a steward of the game since playing with his collegiate team at the University of Michigan.
"His dedicated service to our chapter has really been what's put us in a position to be where we're at today," First Tee of Greater Chicago Executive Director Lisa Quinn said.
"Our growth has really been exponential with his leadership."
Believing that golf could be the platform for teaching life lessons, Patterson became the founding president of the Chicago chapter.
Initially, the local First Tee was a struggling charity with limited outreach. But under Patterson's leadership, the chapter grew into a youth development organization reaching about 50,000 young players in schools, golf clubs, park districts and other regional partners.
"What are we doing for the kids? To me, that's all that mattered," Patterson said.
He used his connections at the Illinois PGA and the prestigious Butler National Golf Club in Oak Brook - where Patterson is the director of golf - to bring talent and financial support to the First Tee.
"Bruce was really the guy who took it under his wing, did the work and really gave it the opportunity to grow," said Pat Goss, who succeeded Patterson as president.
Donald also has been key to the chapter's growth. He returned to Medinah six years after helping Team Europe mount an incredible comeback at the 2012 Ryder Cup to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the "Taste of the First Tee," a marquee event that has raised $3 million since its inception. The mission of the chapter isn't to churn out golfing prodigies, but to build character on and off the course.
"The most fun part of this night is always hearing the testimonials from the kids and how the First Tee programs has impacted their lives," Donald said.
"I've got a lot of examples, but one kid who came from one of our very first First Tee events just graduated from Stanford. He's now working for Tesla - just stories like that, maybe kids who didn't have much of a chance and through golf and through the First Tee programs have really made them grow up with good ideals and good characteristics and has really led to some great success in their lives."
About 240 Taste attendees heard those success stories from First Tee students. After a wine-tasting reception, the evening ended with Donald's welcoming Cubs center fielder Ian Happ and retired Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp for a Q&A moderated by NBC Sports Chicago anchor Pat Boyle.
The First Tee also announced Monday that a namesake fund in honor of Patterson will be established to support training and professional development of the chapter's coaches, mentors and staff.
"It feels like a job well done in the sense of I can move on and know that this is not only going to be good, it's going to be way better," said Patterson, whose tenure ended in 2016. "So if you leave something better than you found it, that's a really good thing, and so I feel that is my accomplishment or my gift that I was able to give."