Deputies tee off for charity!

PALMDALE – More than 120 golfers came out Monday morning to raise funds for the 13th annual Don Self Integrity Golf Tournament.

The tournament was held at the Antelope Valley Country Club, where deputies and community members enjoyed a gorgeous day of golfing, while raising funds for the Don Self Scholarship program.

The program is spearheaded by the Palmdale Sheriff’s Boosters and provides scholarships for youth in the Antelope Valley.

The program began in 2000 after longtime AV Mall deputy, Don Self, lost his battle with cancer.

Before his passing, Self worked with troubled youths in the Antelope Valley. He believed that, through integrity, dignity, and credibility, youths could overcome their poor choices and still succeed.

Since the program’s inception, the Palmdale Sheriff’s Boosters have annually awarded scholarships to youths in the Antelope Valley that have graduated from continuation schools and been accepted into college programs.

Additionally, they have annually awarded scholarships to Highland High School graduates participating in law and government programs.

Recently, the Booster organization began awarding scholarships to Palmdale and Lancaster Sheriff’s Explorers in the name of Rylan Jernigan, a former explorer who was tragically killed in a car accident in 2009.

Scholarship recipients apply to the program by drafting essays about the three words – integrity, dignity, and credibility – and what the words mean to them.

The tournament has, over the years, placed a twist on many of the traditional golf tournament games, including a “Marshmallow Drive Contest” and a “Putting Contest” in which participants drive a marshmallow as far as they can and make relatively easy puts, while wearing impairment goggles.

These twists, and a truly noble cause, have allowed the tournament to gross nearly $30,000 this year to fund the scholarship program and other Booster community programs.

The Palmdale Sheriff Boosters would like to thank some of the many sponsors who make the tournament and scholarship program possible.

• 6th Street Towing
• Antelope Valley Chevy
• Antelope Valley Harley
• Birdies Driving Range
• Robertson’s Palmdale Honda
• Antelope Valley Nissan / Volkswagen
• American Medical Response
• W.A. Thompson
• Palmdale Chamber of Commerce
• Western Pacific Roofing
• JCT
• Monte Vista Building
• KUZYK Law
• Federal Building Services
• Ten 8 Uniforms
• Trauma Solutions
• Hilton Garden Inn
• Fry Chiropractic
• Lancaster Beauty School
• Antelope Valley Bank

(Information via press release from the Palmdale Station.)

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