Bash at the Bend 2009, featuring Wilander & Pernfors
It’s hard to believe that a whole week has past since the conclusion of the first Bash at Bend. That’s right, the FIRST. The overwhelmingly positive response we have received over the past week has made us conclude that the Bash at the Bend will now be an annual event – continuing to benefit orphans and homeless mother’s through the work of Mission Grounds and its volunteers.
Both Mikael Pernfors & Mats Wilander have expressed a clear interest in returning to the Bash at the Bend next year. Speaking of Mats & Mikael, on behalf of Mission Grounds, the Horseshoe Bend Country Club, sponsors, players and fans, we would like to sincerely thank our distinguished guests for their participation at this year’s event. Both Mats & Mikael spent numerous hours giving clinics to HSB members, promising juniors and homeless kids from around the Atlanta area. Mats & Mikael also put on a great singles exhibition on Sunday afternoon, barely beating out a massive rain storm that followed. Sam Crenshaw from 11 Alive News came out on Saturday and shot a piece on the event, as well as interviewing Mats Wilander about the Mission Grounds efforts surrounding the Bash at the Bend. Saturday also saw a great doubles-exhibition featuring Pernfors with former UGa teammate Allen Miller, squaring off against Wilander and Jonas Jarvholm, another talented Swedish native currently living and playing tennis in the Atlanta area.
A special thanks go out to all the pros & volunteers for making the Bash at the Bend possible. THANK YOU EVERYONE! A big shout-out also goes out to Amnesty Road, the great rock band that provided the musical entertainment for both Friday & Saturday night. For more info on Amnesty Road, please visit www.amnestyroad.com
Besides the tennis clinics and exhibitions, this 3-day event also hosted a very well-received wine tasting and silent auction that raised about $8,700 for the cause.
The overall financial reality of the event is that the inaugural Bash at the Bend barely broke even once all funds from committed sponsors have been collected. However, the objective of establishing the training center still seems to be within reach as Kroger has indicated that they will help to fund the building of the training center with Mission Grounds. If you are interested in supporting Mission Grounds and its cause, please go to www.missiongrounds.com to order coffee or to make a donation.
“Jonas Thelin and I put our hearts and souls into this event for over 3 months and we are very pleased with the outcome and positive that with the continued help and support of the Horseshoe Bend Community and the HSB Country Club, our sponsors & volunteers, we can pull off an even bigger and better attended event next year”, said Boake Moore, founder & owner of Mission Grounds.
Mission Grounds is a 501c non-profit corporation focusing on helping homeless children and global orphans. It is currently building orphanages in Venezuela and China and helping homeless children in Atlanta, Africa, Russia, Venezuela, China and Costa Rica. Mission Grounds, in partnership with Trinity community ministries & Kroger, are planning to build a training center for homeless mothers in downtown Atlanta at Trinity United Methodist church. The training center will feature a cooking school, computer lab, library, free daycare center and will focus on teaching both job skills and life skills. Trinity community ministries will continue to support and council the graduates for up to a full year after they start their new jobs. The training center will greatly benefit Atlanta children, as it will facilitate their mothers into a fresh start. Not only will it be one of the few job training centers focusing on both single and homeless mothers but the byproduct of the cooking school will also feed hundreds of homeless families everyday.
Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/
