The tournament supported MCBA’s civic programs and nonprofit beneficiary Untrafficked, while one prize carried an unexpected piece of golf history.
The Metroplex Civic & Business Association wants North Texas business leaders and their employees involved in their communities, volunteering, voting and showing up.
Known as MCBA, the nonpartisan, nonprofit business league connects companies with opportunities to participate in civic life across Dallas-Fort Worth. Its work encourages business leaders to take an interest in the communities where their employees and customers live.
On September 24, MCBA brought 88 players to Cowboys Golf Club in Grapevine for its inaugural Chairman’s Cup. Tournament proceeds supported MCBA’s community programs, with a portion benefiting Untrafficked, the nonprofit MCBA selected as a beneficiary of the event.
Untrafficked works to protect children and combat trafficking in the United States. It trains people to recognize warning signs, helps turn reports of suspicious activity into information law enforcement can use and connects survivors with recovery partners. Its work covers prevention, identification, recovery and ongoing care.
Players enjoyed a day of golf followed by barbecue, awards and live music from Dallas songwriter Mitchell Ferguson. Kensington Vanguard’s Zach Sams, Aaron Loose, Tyler Isbell and David Lagat won the tournament without using a single mulligan. Winners received more than $6,000 in prizes, including custom Bison coolers made in the United States. Lead sponsors included Augustine, Generational Group, Texas Security Bank, GTN Solutions and Kensington Vanguard.
But the prize Shawn Mackie received for winning the closest-to-the-pin contest came with a story few golf tournaments could offer: a Masters golf bag signed by Byron Nelson, preserved by one family for 26 years and donated with a promise in mind.
Israel Martinez, CEO of Axon Global Services, shared a letter documenting the bag’s history. According to his account, it began at Augusta National in April 2000.
Early one morning during Masters week, Martinez stood beneath the large oak behind the clubhouse to pray. An older gentleman arrived, and the two spoke briefly. The man mentioned that he was from Dallas.
Later that morning, Martinez saw the same man on the first tee, this time wearing a green jacket. It was Byron Nelson.
Martinez bought a Masters golf bag that week in Nelson’s honor, hoping he might eventually have it signed. For the next two years, he kept it protected.
The opportunity arrived in an unlikely place.
In 2002, Martinez stopped at the Keller office of his friend and chiropractor, Dr. Darryl Laney. The office walls displayed Nelson memorabilia, prompting Martinez to mention his bag. Laney told him Nelson was a patient and had the next appointment.
Outside, Martinez found Nelson struggling to get out of his car and helped him. When Nelson asked who he was, Martinez told him about their meeting beneath the oak at Augusta.
“Go get that golf bag,” Nelson told him, according to Martinez’s account.
They talked about Nelson’s career for roughly 20 minutes. Then Nelson signed the bag and wrote two years beside his signature: 1937 and 1942.
They were the years he won the Masters. Nelson’s career also included five major championships, 52 PGA Tour victories and an extraordinary 11 consecutive wins in 1945.
Martinez recalled Nelson telling him that adding the years “will make the bag that much more valuable when you decide to donate it.”
The family kept the bag for more than two decades after that conversation. This September, Peter and Kellee Strople helped connect Martinez with the opportunity to donate it for MCBA’s tournament benefiting Untrafficked, according to Augustine Agency CEO Robert Nelson.
Martinez brought his family to the awards ceremony to meet Mackie and explain the history behind his prize.
In an email afterward, Martinez described Mackie as an avid golfer since age 10 who was “teary-eyed with gratitude.” He also praised the event’s organization and the welcome his family received.
For Martinez, giving away the bag meant fulfilling the promise he had made to Nelson. For his 9-year-old son, it meant helping his father part with something that had belonged to their family for years.
“My son and I did a proper good-bye,” Martinez wrote, adding that they were grateful to finally donate it to a worthy cause.
About the author: Brian Wheeler is an entrepreneur, business executive, corporate board director and founding board member of The Dallas Express. With more than 30 years of experience in business, marketing, advertising and commercial printing, he has served on the boards of both public and private companies. His writing explores faith, culture, leadership, character and personal responsibility.
The views expressed in this opinion column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Dallas Express.
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