Cameron Tucker and his mother, Coletha Kennedy, practice putting during the Operation Military Kids The First Tee event March 12 at J.S. Clark Park in Baton Rouge. (Photo by Tobie Blanchard. Click on photo for downloadable image.)

News Release Distributed 03/15/11

Madison Salvaggio had never played golf before.

“Does putt-putt count?” she asked.

Madison and her family took advantage of beautiful weather, free golf instruction and a scramble on the golf course March 12 during the First Tee event sponsored by the LSU AgCenter 4-H Operation Military Kids and BREC, the East Baton Rouge Parish recreation department.

Madison’s father is in the Air National Guard. The family has participated in other Operation Military Kids programs. They traveled from their home in Metairie to J.S. Clark Park in Baton Rouge for the day.

“Both my husband and I loved playing golf in the past, and it’s been a long time since we played,” said Roselle Salvaggio. “But I thought my daughter would benefit from the experience.”

The First Tee is a national youth development program that uses golf to help teach life skills such as honesty, integrity and perseverance.

“We also deal with goal-setting, interpersonal skills, proper etiquette,” said Jack Terry, East Baton Rouge Parish First Tee executive director. “All of those attributes that are intrinsic to the game of golf, we use to teach to the kids.”

Participants learned proper techniques for gripping and swinging the club, chipping around the green and hitting.

“It’s pretty hard, because I can never make it,” said Madison.

They also learned to respect the course.

“Make sure you use the rake to clean the sand trap, and do not chip the field in the special putting area,” said Nicolaus Clement, of Baton Rouge. His father is in the Army, stationed at Ft. Leonard Wood, Mo.

Like Madison, Nicolaus’ only experience with golf was on a putt-putt course.

“It’s a little different because you can use different strokes and different clubs,” he said.

Operation Military Kids organizes activities to bring together military families and reach children who may have a difficult time with relocating or with a parent’s deployment. The program allows children to meet others, make new friends and have fun.

The program is operated by Louisiana 4-H through a grant from the Department of Defense.

“4-H gives them a stable environment. If they move around a lot, then that stable environment goes with them because 4-H programming is the same basically anywhere you go,” said Caleb Persick, a graduate assistant with the Operation Military Kids program.

The program offers a variety of camps, service-learning projects and activities such as horseback riding.

“For me, I’m OK with having a military dad, but for some kids it might be a little hard for them,” said Courtnay Hotard, a seventh-grader from Gonzales whose father is in the National Guard.

Days like this help make it a little easier.

To learn more about Operation Military Kids and 4-H, contact the LSU AgCenter office in your parish.

Tobie Blanchard