In a banner year, CAP’s 8th Annual CAP Golf Tournament, presented by Fickling Construction, raised more than $150,000 in support of arts education. Since its inception, the tournament has raised nearly $900,000. It is the only golf tournament to support arts education on the First Coast. The event, chaired by Alan Fickling, was held on October 7, 2024 at Deerwood Country Club.
“I’ve been incredibly fortunate to witness the growth and impact of this tournament over the past 8 years. It is a testament to the generosity of the Northeast Florida community and its dedication to providing essential arts education for children and young adults,” said Tournament Chair and Presenting Sponsor Alan Fickling. “Reflecting on this record-breaking year, I feel a mix of pride and gratitude. It’s been an absolute pleasure to serve as Tournament Chair, and I’m excited to see what the future holds.”
“We are incredibly grateful to Alan Fickling for his vision in launching CAP’s golf tournament eight years ago and for his exceptional leadership every year since,” said Rev. Kimberly Hyatt, Cathedral Arts Project President and CEO. “His dedication to empowering every child’s creative spirit through the arts is instrumental to CAP’s success.”
The Sherwin-Williams team (comprised of BJ French, Matt Paidas, John Murphy and Ashley Bonner) won first place
Rising to the top of a field of 27 teams, the Sherwin-Williams team won in a USGA tiebreaker to take home the grand prize with the best net score of the day. Cragg’s Glass took second place and the Smith Brothers Plastering Company team came in third.
Jeff Prosser of 1010XL announced the tournament, competition and raffle winners and presided over a live auction to support fundraising. Golfers, staff and volunteers enjoyed the awards ceremony, where Fickling, CAP Vice President of Philanthropy Doug Walker, and CAP Teaching Artist Fellow in Theatre Julia Veiga spoke about the importance of arts education for children in Northeast Florida.
Alan Fickling (second from left), Tournament Chair and presenting sponsor, with his team consisting of Jeff Prosser, Tyler Turknett and Larry Turknett
Veiga shared her perspective as a first-generation American with childhood dreams of a career in the performing arts. She described how support from one influential role model led her to become a theater teacher, and how her experiences working with CAP students across Northeast Florida have demonstrated the transformative power of the arts.
“One of the first programs I ran at CAP was an afterschool program at Sulzbacher. We transformed a typical classroom into a stage, where I had the honor of meeting some of the funniest kids I’ve ever met, like Dante, who came every week, but mostly sat to the side. It wasn’t until we began our unit on improv that this child really started to shine,” Veiga said. “CAP provides the resources and qualified teaching artists to make these discoveries at every stage of learning possible. Providing Northeast Florida with the joy of art instruction is an honor I take with the utmost seriousness and heaps of joy.”
CAP would especially like to thank those who made the tournament a success, including volunteers from Florida Blue, PwC, Merrill Lynch and Bank of America, and numerous event sponsors. CAP also thanks the golf tournament committee which includes Anthony Austin, First Coast News; Curt Dircks, Othot, Inc; Nader Farhat, PwC; Frances Jabbour; Marty Kern, Constellation Brands; Steve McCall, Florida Paint Company; Alan Pickert, Terrell Hogan; Larry Turknett, J. Williams Construction; Collin Walker, Trump National Doral; and Bill Warden, Dark Matter Technologies, LLC. For a full list of sponsors, visit capkids.org/golf.
The 9th Annual CAP Golf Tournament will be held in fall 2025.
