Conversations on race, equity par for the course at Be The Change Golf Tournament
MINNEAPOLIS -- This weekend, community and corporations come together using golf as a tool to foster change, and a number of opportunities are being provided through Be the Change Golf Tournament.
Near the fairway or on the green is where deals are made that can change lives. For Makran El-Amin and David Fenske, being paired up at the tournament was beneficial for both of them.
"On one of the holes my friend, Mike Beard, asked Makram, 'What kind of outreach do you do?' And he talked about the employment agency that he runs for second-chance individuals and my ears perked up," Fenske said.
Fenske runs Dayton Rogers, a 90-year-old contract metal manufacturing company. El-Amin works with men recently released from prison, looking for a better way.
"We look for opportunities to connect with employers, and that day -- that fateful day at the Be the Change Golf Tournament last year -- we connected, and we've been connected at the hip ever since," El-Amin said.
Half of the men trained at Dayton Rogers still work there, many full time. It's a win-win for the company and for the community.
"We're getting good employees. This is not a charity thing. We need good employees and we are getting them," Fenske said.
These opportunities came out of the tough conversations had on the course during the tournament that focused on race and equity. Tournament founders John Baker and Houston White hope to connect others and do exactly what this golf get-together was designed to do.
The third-annual Be the Change Golf Tournament is on Saturday at Theodore Wirth golf course. All the money raised goes to community based nonprofits.