Bill and Kasey Hollon of Plano aren’t golfers, yet they are still sponsors of the 2013 Bishop Farrell Invitational because they believe in supporting Catholic education.
By Cathy Harasta
The Texas Catholic
One need not tee it up to play an important part in the Bishop Farrell Invitational golf tournament, which benefits Catholic education in the Diocese of Dallas, organizers and sponsors said.
Bill and Kasey Hollon of Plano said that advocates of Catholic education can choose the course that they selected—supporting the tournament as non-golf sponsors.
“You don’t have to be a golfer to participate in tuition assistance and be supportive of Bishop Farrell and the diocese,” Kasey Hollon said. “I am passionate about Catholic education. A faith-based education is so much more than just book knowledge. It is a continuing of what is fostered in the home, as the parents are the first educators.”
Different types of sponsorships, including golf and non-golf, are available for the third annual Bishop Farrell Invitational on Sept. 16 at the TPC-Four Seasons Resort and Club and Cottonwood Valley in Irving, said Kris Kramer, the tournament’s special events director.
The tournament, hosted by Dallas Bishop Kevin J. Farrell, provides immediate tuition assistance for students to attend Catholic schools in the Diocese of Dallas.
Kramer said that the upcoming Invitational’s sponsorships have reached $214,000 so far.
The Hollons, who are parishioners at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in Plano, have supported the Bishop Farrell Invitational since the tournament began.
Since its launch, the tournament raised more than $1 million and helped 550 students attend Dallas diocesan schools.
“Sponsors are the key to the success of the tournament,” said Doug Lattner, who is co-chairing the tournament with his wife, Vicky. “It’s not only sponsors who want to play golf, but also the non-golf sponsors who want to help children get a Catholic education.”
Bill and Kasey Hollon said that families throughout the diocese benefit from the Bishop Farrell Invitational, not only specific schools.
“The cause is one that’s easy to support,” Bill Hollon said. “We don’t golf, but we certainly support Catholic education.
“We’ve always valued faith-based education.”
Kasey Hollon said that she is passionate about Catholic education because she was fortunate to have been educated in Catholic schools.
She said that their children attended St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic School in Plano and Bishop Lynch High School and the Hollons’ grandchildren now are St. Mark students.
“We feel that God has blessed us,” Kasey Hollon said.
She said that so much can be gained by helping students in schools with greater numbers of at-risk students.
“If giving these students a quality education can break the cycle of poverty, how great is that?” she said.
More than 13 diocesan schools benefited from the 2012 Bishop Farrell Invitational, which the Dallas Business Journal ranked fourth among North Texas’ largest charity golf tournaments.
For more information, please visit www.bishopfarrellgolf.org or email Kris Kramer at kristinakkramer@gmail.com or Jim Urbanus at jurbanus@cathdal.org.
charasta@cathdal.org
