Allie Agrella to Play First Tee Open in PB

Seventy participants representing 47 chapters of The First Tee have been selected to play in the Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach, an official Champions Tour event that will be conducted July 8-10 and televised nationally on Golf Channel.

Allie Agrella, from The First Tee of Greater Austin will be one of those players.  These young men and women were selected through a process that evaluates participants' playing ability and comprehension of the life skills and character education learned through their involvement with The First Tee.  More than 250 applications were submitted. Of the 70 selected to play, 47 are junior boys and 23 are junior girls.

Allie Agrella began with The First Tee of Greater Austin in 2006 when she joined our after school program. Golf would prove to be one of many skills and passions displayed by Allie.  Two years later in 2008 Allie:

• captured her first Southern Texas PGA (STPGA) tournament win,
• earned a spot on the Westwood High School Girls golf team as a freshman,
• won several First Tee of Greater Austin Foundation Tour events, and
• was awarded, Rookie of the year honors from LPGA Girls Golf in 2008.

Also, in 2088 Allie participated in the First Tee Life Skills Academy in Eugene, Oregon. Since then Allie has won several STPGA events and maintains a 79 stroke average and a 9 handicap.

In addition to being an excellent golfer. Allie loves to dance. She is a Social Officer for the Sun Dancers of Westwood High School. You can see her dance at the Westwood Football games and other events. Allie takes three extra studio dance classes per week and dances with a select company in Jazz and Hip Hop. Allie thinks dance gives her an edge in golf because of agility, stamina, and flexibility. All three attributes are critical in golf and dance.

Allie received the Presidential Gold Service award four years in a row. She serves over 100 hours of community service annually. The First Tee of Greater Austin is lucky because Allie has served as a mentor for over 100 hours in Player, Par, and Birdie programs. Allie served as a mentor for the Scottish Rite Hospital Clinic for physically challenged youth. She is a member of the American Sign Language Club, and the chair for the Cultural Events, NCL.  Art is another passion of Allie. She submitted two entries into Reflections and recently won the First Tee of Austin Holiday Art Contest.

Allie's academics do not stiffer with her busy schedules and activities. Her grades are exemplary. She is a member of the Westwood High School National Honor Society.   She has made the Honor Roll every semester since joining The First Tee. She is currently taking several Advanced Placement (AP) classes.  Allie hopes to play golf in college and wants to major in Studio Art with an emphasis in education. If her high school career is any indication, Allie will be successful at the
college level.

Anie Agrella is a leader as she demonstrates the First Tee Life Skills in everything she does. We are blessed to have such a courteous and respectful person that demonstrates the utmost in perseverance, judgment, sportsmanship, responsibility, honesty and integrity.

Congratulations to Allie Argrella for all her accomplishments.