By Andrew Edwards
Staff Writer
On Tuesday, October 8ththe Prattville Baptist Hospital hosted their 12thannual golf classic at Robert Trent Jones.
The 2019 golf classic hosted nearly 42 different teams, which accumulated to well over 100 different individuals. However, the buzz around the clubhouse was for the arrival of musician Taylor Hicks.
Hicks, best known for his appearance on American Idol, was the first celebrity guest to be a part the golf classic. Tommy McKinnon, executive director at the Baptist Foundation, was thrilled that Hicks would be joining them for a great day of golf.
“We’re just so excited that Taylor could come out to the course with us today. We’ve got a great day of golf lined up,” McKinnon said. “Taylor is a big golfer, and we had the opportunity to meet him here at another tournament. We decided to invite him down and see if he would be interested in coming and it turned out that he was thrilled to be a part of this.”
Even though Hicks is a household name, that doesn’t mean he’s forgotten about his home state.
“Hicks has gained notoriety worldwide through is musical performance, but he has deep roots in the state of Alabama. He is very supportive of many different events in the state and we couldn’t be happier to have him here today,” McKinnon goes on to say.
At about 11:30 a.m., Hicks arrived at the clubhouse to be greeted by the executive director. Before the tournament began, everyone in attendance had a chance to say a few words with Taylor and take photos. There was also a large meal setup inside for the golfers and others in attendance.
As people began to walk through the buffet line, the local Montgomery 107.5 ESPN station was recording their daily talk show in the background. At one point, Hicks went over to the booth where he took a mic from Doug Amos, one the hosts of the show, and gave a shout out to Tuscaloosa news columnist Cecil Hurt.
After the lunch was over, Hicks went outside with the rest of the golfers and thanked them all for coming out to the event.
“I’m looking forward to a great day of golf. I’ve had the opportunity to come out to this site a few times, and I really love it. I’m glad to help the foundation in any way possible,” Hicks said.
The proceeds for the classic will provide a new front façade for the main lobby of the hospital, which is a part of the new clinical wing that will added. In past years, the proceeds have helped the hospital in a myriad of ways. In 2018, it helped to fund for a stratus troponin analyzer, which is a piece of equipment that helps to assist in the diagnosis of chest pains.
The Baptist Health Care Foundation helps the growing health are needs of the community through their corporate sponsorships and patient and employee giving.
For more information about the foundation, please visit baptistfoundation.org
