For one evening this June the eyes of Big Blue Nation and all of the media in Cincinnati, were on Northern Kentucky for the Pairings Party at the 2007 Meijer/Kicks For Kids Celebrity Golf Classic. In addition to all that this outing offers at Triple Crown Country Club, the event featured Billy Gillispie, the new men's basketball coach at the University of Kentucky. This speaking engagement marked Coach Gillispie's first in Northern Kentucky and created an unprecedented amount of excitement surrounding the KFK fundraiser.

After golf on Monday, June 25th, sponsors, UK fans, sports buffs, newspaper reporters, and TV anchors filled the Newport Syndicate to hear what the Wildcats' new basketball coach would have to say. Following dinner and KFK's most successful auction, Coach Gillispie took the stage to address the sold out crowd. His folksy, humorous and self-deprecating speech pleased everyone, and left all the UK fans in attendance eager for the opening tip of the season and believing that he was the right man to lead the Wildcats back to national prominence.

Following his speech Coach Gillispie surprised everyone when he convinced two season ticket holders in attendance, Sean and Scott Smith, to auction off their pair of floor seats to a UK home game - along with the chance to hear his pregame speech. After the bidding for these tickets reached $3,500, Coach Gillispie had one more surprise for the crowd. He donated for auction a set of four tickets (from his supply) to an upcoming game at Rupp Arena, including enjoyment of the pregame meal and watching the shoot around. When the bidding reached $8,000 he added another set for the second place bidder...for a total of $16,000! In total the auction raised a record of more than $43,000 to help local children at risk.

While much of the excitement about the 2007 Meijer/Kicks For Kids Celebrity Golf Classic centered on the appearance by Coach Gillispie, the event was also a success on the course. For the first time in two years a foursome that was paired with a celebrity other than Sterling Sharpe took home the first place trophy. RGI, Inc., with the help of Vincie Glenn, was the winning group with a final score of 38 under par. While other foursomes may not have been able to match the golfing success of this foursome, all who played enjoyed the beautiful, yet challenging, course at Triple Crown; were treated to a great selection of food on the course thanks to Outback Steakhouse, Rafferty's Restaurant & Bar, Trauth Dairy, Frito Lay, Skyline Chili, Margaritas, Tom's Papa Dino's Pizza, and JTM; and took home some great items from our pro shop.

Thanks to all our sponsors, celebrities, and volunteers who made the 2007 Meijer/KFK Celebrity Golf Classic a successful fundraiser. Once again this will be our largest benefit of the year and will be the main source of funding for the many youth programs that we will be hosting. We hope to have your support again at next year's Meijer/Kicks For Kids Celebrity Golf Classic, so mark your calendars for June 23 & 24, 2008.