The Harold Varner III Foundation Junior All-Star was named the American Junior Golf Association’s 2020 Media and Social Media Award honoree.
Each year, the AJGA recognizes top tournaments, committees, and individuals who produce outstanding work during the previous AJGA season in 15 categories. Awards distinguish the effort of local supporters who make each quality tournament experience possible.
The Media and Social Media Award is selected based on an event’s success with engaging local media, and overall creativity and interaction on social media.
"Harold, myself and the entire HV3 Foundation team are extremely honored to win the AJGA's 2020 Media Award. This all started with one simple mission, provide affordable access to youth in sport. In just one years’ time, through Harold's vision, our work, and our supporters, we were able to create instant impact. We are very thankful for the Golf Channel and PGA Tour showcasing the AJGA event as they helped bring an even broader audience to what the HV3 Foundation team is doing. We look forward to continued success with the AJGA for years to come."
By hosting events like this, Varner is able to provide support for children who share the same struggles getting into the game as he did at a young age. Although he only played in one AJGA qualifier as a teen, Varner now has an ACE Grant with his name on it. He is proud of this accomplishment but has one focus – giving kids, especially minority golfers, the opportunity to play. Varner says that golf has changed his life, and it’s his mission to give those with the same passion the best opportunity to succeed with the AJGA.
Throughout the week, social media presence was big using the tournament hashtag #JASHV3. The AJGA, tournament participants and parents, PGA TOUR, HV3 Foundation and Harold Varner III himself were posting, telling the stories of the event.
"It's not about me. It's about the kids and their journey in life."@HV3_Golf hosted an @AJGAGolf event earlier this week in his home state of North Carolina. pic.twitter.com/OkjRk46Xud
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 2, 2020
Notable engagement from the 2020 #JASHV3:
- Reached about 508,000+ Twitter users
- Received 20,600+ Instagram interactions
- Harold Varner III was on-site interacting with juniors and publishing to Instagram stories
- Local media (WFMY News 2 and the Winston-Salem Journal) attended and covered the event
"The HV3 Foundation Junior All-Star is extremely deserving of this award. The HV3 Foundation is doing important work to provide access to the game and to not only have the opportunity to support our combined missions, but to have it highlighted on a national scale in the first year of the event was amazing to see."
AJGA tournaments are annually honored in the categories of hospitality, fundraising, charitable giving, volunteers, engaged media, and social media. The year’s most outstanding golf professional, superintendent and golf course executive are honored alongside the most game-changing ov
erall event, best new event, and top honorees in each tournament ‘series’ (Preview, Junior All-Star, Open and Invitational). Awards are presented on-site during the tournament week.
The second Harold Varner III Foundation Junior All-Star will be held at Tanglewood Park in Clemmons, North Carolina, from June 28th to July 1st. For more information about the covering the event, please contact Hampton Clark (hclark@ajga.org ) in the AJGA Communications Department.
About the HV3 Foundation
The Harold Varner III Foundation aims to provide awareness to the rising cost of entry and access to sports, as well as provide financial assistance to young athletes for equipment, after school programs, camps, and other resources where they can develop their passion.
About the AJGA
The American Junior Golf Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the overall growth and development of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf. The AJGA provides valuable exposure for college golf scholarships and has an annual junior membership (boys and girls, ages 12-19) of more than 7,500 members from 50 states and 60 foreign countries. Through initiatives like the Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant, a financial assistance program, and Leadership Links, a service-oriented platform that teaches juniors charitable-giving skills, the AJGA fosters the growth of golf’s next generation.
TaylorMade and adidas are the AJGA’s National Sponsors, supporting the AJGA for more than 25 years. TaylorMade has served as the Official Ball of the AJGA since 2016. adidas has been the Official Apparel and Footwear of the AJGA since 2017. Rolex, in its fourth decade of AJGA sponsorship, became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004.
AJGA alumni have risen to the top of amateur, collegiate, and professional golf. Former AJGA juniors have compiled more than 1,200 victories on the PGA and LPGA Tours. AJGA alumni include Collin Morikawa, Rickie Fowler, Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Tiger Woods, Paula Creamer, Ariya Jutanugarn, Cristie Kerr, Stacy Lewis, Brittany Lincicome, Anna Nordqvist, Inbee Park, and Lexi Thompson.