The 2018 Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout, part of the Symetra Tour, will benefit the local Camp Fire organization, continuing a trend of using the annual tournament to support local charities that focus on helping area youth.
The shootout began in 2015 and has brought some of the top up-and-coming female golfers from around the world to south Arkansas. The event also operates as a flagship fundraiser extending Murphy USA’s corporate support of the United Way of Union County and its community programs.
“On behalf of the board of directors and staff, we are very excited and grateful to have been chosen as the beneficiary for this year’s Murphy USA Shootout,” said Leanne Harrell, executive director of Camp Fire El Dorado. “We appreciate the generous and continued support that Murphy USA gives to this community, the United Way and Camp Fire El Dorado. We are proud to partner with Murphy USA in serving today’s youth.”
Camp Fire began in El Dorado in 1961, following the dissolution of the local Girl Scout Council and in response to local parents’ requests for a program that combined education and recreational activities with constructive, character-building activities based on leadership.
The program emphasizes community service. Instead of a mission statement, Camp Fire operates from a promise and belief that youth are the leaders of the future — and of the present.
“Most youth organizations talk about preparing kids for the future or future leadership positions. This is great, but we believe kids and teens are leaders now. They don’t need to wait for the future to shape the world,” Harrell said. “Young people want to shape the world. In Camp Fire, it begins now.”
Camp Fire serves children in grades K-12, offering a wide variety of activities that guide and direct their path. Camp Fire also helps boost confidence and self-esteem while developing leadership, decision-making and life skills.
An outreach effort extends into the El Dorado School District with all-girl, in-school programming and an after-school program for boys and girls at three local elementary schools.”
Outreach programs provide children the opportunity to participate in Camp Fire,” Harrell explained.
Other Camp Fire programs include a summer day camp and outdoor educational workshops, such as Dutch oven cooking and archery. The group’s largest program is the traditional club model, which has 625 members in Union County.
Camp Fire El Dorado operates two facilities in South Arkansas: the Camp Fire Office and Camp Wotapi. The Camp Fire Office at 915 Arkansas Ave. in El Dorado houses office space, meeting rooms, a fully equipped cooking area and a large multipurpose room. Camp Wotapi in Parkers Chapel is a 42-acre recreational facility boasting creeks, campsites, a cabin, amphitheater, lodge and hiking trail.
Money raised by the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout will be used to make improvements and additions to those facilities and to expand and enhance Camp Fire programming, Harrell said.
Camp Fire is intimately familiar with the Shootout, Harrell said, having previously assisted in various capacities, including housing players, scoring and caddying. The event also exposes Camp Fire members to the world of professional golf.
The fourth annual Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout, which will take place Sept. 14-16 at Mystic Creek Golf Club, is presented by PepsiCo.
The event is a 54-hole, stroke-play format event that was named the 2017 Sporting Event of the Year by the Arkansas Festivals and Events Association. For the fourth annual shootout, golfers will vie for a $150,000 total purse. The winner will earn $22,500 and take a significant step toward obtaining her LPGA Tour Card for the 2019 season. The top 10 players on money list for the year-end, Volvik Race for the Card also qualify for their full-time LPGA Tour Cards for the following season. Symetra Tour players have gone on to win 428 LPGA Tour events, including 46 major championships.
For more information about Camp Fire El Dorado, call 870-862-3463 or visit campfireeldorado.org or the Camp Fire Facebook page.
To learn more about the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout, visit eldoradoshootout.com.