NC Beautiful Announces Golf Classic Honorary Chair

NC Beautiful has announced that Steve Spurrier will serve as Honorary Chair of the 23rd NC Beautiful Golf Classic. The organization’s fundraiser will be held from June 6-8, 2008 at Pinehurst Resort, one of the world’s finest golf resorts located among the Sandhills of North Carolina.

NC Beautiful Executive Director, Steve Vacendak, calls Spurrier “one of the nation’s most outstanding football coaches” and says that his presence will add a great deal of excitement to the event. “We’re honored that Steve will be lending his name to help us raise awareness for our event, as well as draw attention to the importance of perpetuating the natural beauty of North Carolina,” says Vacendak.

Spurrier was a 1966 Heisman Trophy winner, Southeastern Conference (SEC) Player of the Year, First-Team All-American, and named MVP of the Sugar Bowl. In 1967, he was selected in the first round NFL draft by the San Francisco 49rs, where he spent the next nine seasons before his trade to Tampa Bay.

After retiring from the NFL, Spurrier coached at the University of Florida, Georgia Tech, and Duke University, where he twice earned ACC Coach of the year. In 1989, Spurrier began his legendary career as head coach for the University of Florida Gators—leading his team to six SEC titles and receiving SEC Coach of the Year five times.

In 2004, Spurrier was chosen to succeed retiring University of South Carolina head coach, Lou Holtz, and earned the distinction of being the first USC football coach to take the Gamecocks to a bowl game in his first two seasons.

Chartered in 1967, NC Beautiful was created as part of Governor Dan K. Moore’s pledge to emphasize preserving the state’s physical beauty. The goal behind Governor Moore’s vision was to use the gifts North Carolina was blessed with—its natural resources, scenery, climate, and physical variety—to provide economic and quality of life benefits for the people of North Carolina. That vision became NC Beautiful’s mission.

For 40 years, NC Beautiful has played an important role in the state’s environmental education and supporting organizations in their beautification efforts. With such programs as the Annual Azalea Celebration and the Windows of Opportunity Grants, the organization is helping North Carolinians keep NC Beautiful.