SEBRING, Fla. — More than 20 retired MLB and NFL players hit the golf course with community leaders and business partners to raise money for the AdventHealth Sebring Foundation at the Sun N Lake Golf Club on Friday.
The money raised during the Fourth Annual AdventHealth Sebring Foundation ‘Thomas “Flash” Gordon’ Celebrity Golf Tournament will support a new health and wellness trail that will be built along Sun N Lake Boulevard, directly east of the AdventHealth Cancer Center. The two-mile trail will represent the shape of a cancer ribbon and be open to the community, at no cost. It is also part of the first phase of construction for a new 21,000-square-foot Health and Wellness Center. So far, the AdventHealth Sebring Foundation has raised 2.9 million dollars for the wellness center.
Retired MLB pitcher Thomas “Flash” Gordon hosted the event. The Sebring native and three-time MLB All-Star won 138 games and saved 158 more during his 21-year career in the big leagues.
“Thank you to every one of you for the support that you’re bringing us with this great event,” Gordon said. “We’d like to thank all our sponsors and everyone that’s come here to help us raise funds for this wellness center, our hospital, as well as give people the opportunities to have more tools to live a successful, healthy life.”
Gordon also thanked the all the golf course workers and event volunteers for all their hard work at the event.
Christen Johnson, vice president and hospital administrator of AdventHealth Wauchula, welcomed the celebrity athletes, who came from across the country to participate in the event along with community leaders and business partners. She also offered a special thank you to all of them for their help and support in raising money for the new health and wellness trail.
“We are very thankful to have such an amazing group attend this event in support of our community and the AdventHealth Foundation” Johnson said. “Promoting health and wellness is a core part of AdventHealth’s mission to provide whole person care. We are blessed to be part of this community, and we are grateful for the gifts and the opportunities we’ve been given to contribute and give back to our neighbors.”
Major League Baseball Hall of Fame broadcaster Joe Castiglione of the Boston Red Sox introduced each of the celebrities before the golfers hit the links.
The event was presented by Bill Jarrett Ford of Avon Park.
After the rounds of golf, players were regaled with stories from the careers of Gordon, fellow retired MLB player and Baseball Hall of Famer Jim Rice and other celebrity athletes. The baseball greats also stressed the importance of a healthy lifestyle and staying active.
To learn more about the new Health and Wellness Center, you can go to Sebring Wellness Center | AdventHealth Sebring.
