Steve Byrd Memorial Golf Tournament set for Oct. 5 and Oct. 6

The Houston County Sheriff’s Office’s annual Steve Byrd Memorial Golf Tournament is set and will once again be held over a two-day period. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the teams were scaled back as a safety measure.

Brandi Clifton said as of Monday morning, there were five team slots left for the morning round, and four for Tuesday morning. Both afternoons’ slots were full. The tournament will operate as a four-person scramble tournament. The entry fee is $125 per person or $500 per team. Fees include lunch, range balls, tournament fee and reception. Prizes will be awarded for top three low gross, top three low net and closest to the pin on all par 3s. The reception and awards for each day will start at 5:30 p.m.

Houston County Sheriff Cullen Talton founded the Steve Byrd Memorial Golf Tournament in honor of his friend, Byrd, a big supporter of the Georgia Sheriff Youth Homes, which is where the tournament’s proceeds are donated.

“The Georgia Sheriff Youth Homes is real close to my heart,” Talton said. “It is such a great program. Ninety cents of each dollar that is donated to the youth homes goes directly to the children. There are not too many organizations out there that can say that.”

The Georgia Sheriff’s Youth Homes was founded in the 1950s by Georgia sheriffs concerned about abused, neglected and abandoned children. The organization was established to give those at-risk children a loving, safe and stable environment to become productive members of society.

“These are not bad kids,” Talton said. “They just need love, guidance and support. Many of them come from a horrible home life where maybe their parents are drug addicts, or they have been abused and some have parents who just did not want them. But the staff and volunteers of the youth homes treat and raise them as if they were their own children. They had one who went on to become a doctor. So again, it’s just a great program. ”

The Georgia Youth Homes is not federally or state funded. All funds come through grants, fundraisers and donations.

Talton said they are also still seeking sponsors for the tournament. Hole sponsorships are $125. Businesses and individuals are welcome to sponsor a hole, buy a banner or become a contributing sponsor. Donations to the tournament are also accepted. All donations and sponsorships are tax deductible. If interested in purchasing a banner sponsorship, deadline is September 18.

For more information, to sign up to participate in the tournament or to sign up as a sponsor, contact Brandi Clifton at the Houston County Sheriff’s Office at 478-542-2125.

HHJ News