by Paige Turner
Country music group Rascal Flatts partnered with Delta Dental of Tennessee and WME to host the third-annual Celebrity Golf Classic to benefit Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt Monday, Oct. 8, at the Golf Club of Tennessee. The Rascal Flatts Celebrity Golf Classic gave teams the opportunity to be matched with a celebrity teammate for a day on the golf course.
All proceeds from the day and evening benefitted research and fellowship training in the Division of Pediatric Urologic Surgery in the Section of Surgical Sciences at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. This support will significantly enhance discoveries and training to meet the changing needs of pediatric patients with a cancer diagnosis or other disease through the expertise of a pediatric urologist.
“We have been so blessed in this life that it has always been important for us to give back,” said Flatts member Joe Don Rooney. “The relationship we have with Children’s Hospital has been so special, and to have an event like this, which is both fun and for an amazing cause, is beyond anything we could have imagined.”
Rascal Flatts are longtime supporters of Children’s Hospital, having performed for patients for more than a decade and helping raise millions of dollars for the hospital, which renamed its Pediatric Surgery Center The Rascal Flatts Surgery Center in 2010.
“We are grateful for Rascal Flatts’ steadfast and longstanding commitment to our hospital, and we are thrilled that they are once again leading the Celebrity Golf Classic, along with Delta Dental and WME,” said John W. Brock III, MD, Surgeon-in-Chief of Children Hospital, Senior Vice President of Pediatric Surgical Services, director of the Division of Urology and Monroe Carell Jr. Professor. “I continue to be amazed by the tremendous support from our entertainment and business communities, which allows us to further advance the scope and quality of the cutting-edge care we can offer our patients.”
The evening concluded with a performance called A Round of Hits with Rascal Flatts and friends.
Longtime advocates for Children’s Hospital, Delta Dental of Tennessee and WME teamed up again this year to present the Rascal Flatts Celebrity Golf Classic.
“Delta Dental is honored to be a part of this great event with our friends from Rascal Flatts and WME as we work to help in the fight against pediatric cancer,” said Phil Wenk, president and CEO of Delta Dental. “We are also pleased to support Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt as it continues to provide world-class medical care for patients.”
