Executive Director's Message

Dear Community Champion,

Happy New Year!

While this past year has certainly been unlike any other, I sincerely hope that your organization, like ours, has been able to gain greater knowledge, strengthen practices and build resolve that have you poised for success in 2021. And I hope each of you knows how grateful my team and I are for your contributions to serving our community during a time of great need and challenge.  Since the inception of THE PLAYERS Championship, the Northeast Florida community has been the inspiration and beneficiary for this tournament, and your efforts as our Community Champions have enabled THE PLAYERS to positively impact our community throughout the year.

Every month since the cancellation of this tournament, our team, alongside our Red and Blue Coats, have engaged in various efforts to maintain our core mission - to serve, support and positively impact the community where we play. As many of you know,  our Red Coats conduct annual “ride-outs,” visiting nonprofit organizations throughout northeast Florida to present charitable donations. Even though the cancellation affected our charitable investments and distributions, we were not deterred in following through on our commitment to honoring all existing charitable agreements and rebuilding our support of nonprofit organizations who do so much for our communities.

As we look toward March 2021 – and given the continued uncertainty around COVID-19 – it is no surprise that the landscape at THE PLAYERS Championship will be different.  At this time, we are planning to host a limited number of ticketed spectators and guests at THE PLAYERS 2021, with the exact amount still to be determined.  As we finalize our plans to soon launch ticket sales, we will not make these decisions lightly; they will be made with the health and safety of our community in mind.

The one constant throughout all of these changes is the persevering and resilient spirit of this championship and of our greater Northeast Florida community. This is our event, and, working together with all of you, we will still produce a successful 2021 championship that we can all be proud of.
 
Thank you for your continued support of, and commitment to, THE PLAYERS Championship.

Happy New Year!  

 
All the best,
 
Jared Rice
Executive Director

At a ribbon-cutting ceremony, officials, doctors, patients, donors and friends celebrated the dedication of THE PLAYERS Lobby at Nemours Children’s Specialty Care in Jacksonville. The $3.5-million renovation represents a total refresh of the space, the first major renovation project since the clinic opened in 1991. THE PLAYERS donated the lead gift of $500,000, which renamed the Nemours lobby, which serves as the gateway into the clinic to more than 100,000 patients and families each year when they come for appointments including complex care medical expertise.

“The transformational gift from THE PLAYERS gave us the opportunity to elevate the lobby to reflect a more inviting and warm environment, and the excellence of care we at Nemours offer our patients and families,” said Dr. Gary Josephson, Chief Medical Officer of the clinic.  “We look forward to future opportunities to work with these great partners.”

In keeping with Nemours Children’s Health System’s approach to integrate patients and families in designing new spaces, families joined team meetings to help inform the decision-makers about functionality of the space. Patient arrival sequences were studied to improve the flow through the front doors and reception area, resulting in easier access entry to the elevators leading to the clinic.

Among the new and refurbished features of THE PLAYERS Lobby at Nemours Children’s Specialty Care are:

• New entrance sliding doors and wayfinding, allowing for ease of entry.

• Open-floor plan and new windows allowing more light and accentuating the location on the St. Johns River.

• A new café for visitors and employees with riverfront, outdoor seating. A donation from the Hodges family, the Hugs from Hunter 3 Café honors their three sons who passed away after battling the same rare disease, dyskeratosis, a genetic form of bone marrow failure, which has been identified in fewer than 30 cases worldwide.

• Upgraded accessibility, including adjusted heights for tables and seating, and new family restrooms on the ground floor.

• The Florida Blue Art Gallery – Through a gift from Florida Blue, art pieces from 30 Nemours patients, themed “connecting communities,” are displayed in the shape of the Jacksonville skyline. The art work, produced through the creative activities and art services offered to Nemours patients, will rotate on an annual basis

• The Family Education Zone – a designated space for reading, play or taking phone calls between appointments, thanks to a gift from Dr. Michael Erhard, Physician-in-Chief for Nemours Florida, and his wife Lynn.

• The lobby’s landmark model train. Thanks to a $50,000 gift from the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund, the beloved train is getting a new display case, allowing better accessibility for the retiree volunteer group who change the train décor seasonally

• Enhanced access to the outdoors and butterfly garden.

Lisa Kaspar serves as Chair of the Players Transportation Committee, a role she assumed in 2016.  She has volunteered with THE PLAYERS for 9 years.  In this capacity, Lisa has gained many fond memories of supporting and serving players’ families.  While many may recall Rickie Fowler’s epic win in 2015, few may not realize how his family was able to witness it.  Rickie’s mom and sister had departed TPC Sawgrass earlier in the day to head to Jacksonville International Airport.  It was at the airport where Lynn Fowler learned of her son’s comeback. She made the decision to return to the course immediately and Lisa assisted her.

“I received a call from Lynn informing me they were checked in at the airport but ‘Rickie is in a situation.’ We worked through some logistics and in the end, were able to provide Lynn with the best Mother's Day gift.  She got to see her son win The Players Championship.“

Aside from volunteering for various PGA TOUR events, Lisa serves as Director, Operations for the Cummer Museum.  In addition to golf, a sport she was inspired to play after attending a practice round at the Masters, she enjoys learning how to fly airplanes with the goal of earning her private pilot license. A native Chicagoan, Lisa is a diehard Bears and Blackhawks fan.  She and her husband Steve live in Jacksonville with their 9-year-old German Shepherd, Nahla Wrigley.