2LiveBeyond gala and tournament raises $70,000 and plans move to late April

The third annual 2LiveBeyond Gala, Auction and Celebrity Golf Tournament raised $70,000 last month, according to founder and organizer Scott Pyle, though he said the tournament is still tinkering with dates and will likely be moved into April for the first time in 2017.

The tournament featured about 30 athletes including Super Bowl champions in David Patten, Byron Chamberlain and Bernard Pollard, World Series winner Tony Womack and three-time NBA champion Gerald Henderson Sr., and was open to a limited number of spectators and gala participants.

It benefits special needs and disadvantaged children in the area and abroad.

The inaugural tournament in 2014 was held more than two weeks after Memorial Day in mid-June, last year’s event was held the weekend following Memorial Day, and this year’s event was held May 21-23 on the weekend and Monday before the holiday weekend.

Organizers are still seeking the ideal time for the tournament, and want to give late April a shot in 2017.

“Our intent was to bring something in the middle of bike week that was going to be very family, very focused on the community, but it just gets squeezed out,” said Pyle, chairman of the 2LiveBeyond board and owner of presenting sponsor Pyle Financial Services who held a press conference to announce the fundraising on the eve of the vote for his bid for a seat in the state senate.

Pyle said the celebrity athletes are dealing with their kids’ schedules in the summer, and in late May the dates may fall on school activities such as graduation ceremonies. “We’ll be looking at dates and working with the community to try to make sure we’re not stepping over anyone else,” Pyle said. “We just want to continue to grow.”

Organizers also changed the days of the tournament but will be reverting to the original plan in 2017. The gala had been held on a Friday and tournament on a Saturday, but to accommodate a request by host course the Members Club at Grande Dunes, the gala was moved to Saturday and tournament to Monday.

“We changed up our schedule and tried to do the Saturday, Sunday and Monday golf tournament, and … we found the old schedule is the better one.

“We had a light showing on the golf tournament because it was on a Monday, and we found out people work around here on a Monday.”

Pyle said the tournament featured 19 teams, which is eight fewer than the tournament pinnacle, at a cost of $1,500 per individual, $5,000 per foursome or $6,250 for a corporate-sponsored foursome.

The gala at the Ripley’s Aquarium was considered successful and well-received, but spectator turnout for the tournament was also light. Tickets that were good at both events were $125 per person or $200 per couple.

The tournament has been at Grande Dunes since its inception – the first year at the Resort Course and the past two at the private Members Club – and Pyle said he believes the facilities work well for the event.

“The Members Club has been a great relationship for us. If they’re good with us going back to Saturday then we’ll probably stay there,” said Pyle, who added that other courses have expressed an interest in hosting. “If they aren’t happy with that … other courses have reached out to us that would like to have us there, so we’ll take a look.”

The event raises money through contributions, ticket sales, and live and silent auctions at the gala with an array of small- and big-ticket items that this year included golf carts, Derek Jeter signed items, and trips to numerous destinations including Pebble Beach.

It also features a celebrity Miracle League baseball game and a luncheon for the athletes during which the 2LiveBeyond cause is discussed.

“The 2LiveBeyond experience for the athletes is so life-impacting, which has a lot to do with the Miracle League tournament we have,” Pyle said. “And we have an intimate night just for the athletes, and we really focus on what is life beyond the league looks like, what does life beyond the game looks like. And we start talking about career transition, purpose, using their platform in the major leagues, using their platform in the NFL, in the NBA, in golf to now launch into the rest of their lives.

“It has become a watershed experience for them. I can think of five players now that have said this event has changed the way they think about their platform and their influence, and it gives them a lift.”

Pyle said the event itself raised a net total of $40,000, but the five-person 2LiveBeyond board is adding an additional $30,000 to bring the total donation to $70,000. Pyle said approximately $80,000 was donated in each of the event’s first two years, with board contributions included each year.

The benefiting charities are the Grand Strand Miracle Leagues, which provide special needs individuals an opportunity to participate in sports and recreational activities; Teach My People in Horry and Georgetown counties, which mentors and assists children in middle school and high school; Camp Smiles, a summer program for special needs children; Coastal Carolina University's LIFE (Learning Is For Everyone) Program, a college experience for special needs young adults; SOS Healthcare, which assists children with autism in Horry and Florence counties; and Africa New Life Ministries, which cares for and educates 7,500 children in Rwanda and is supported by 2LiveBeyond founder and celebrity host Andre Davis, a Myrtle Beach resident and nine-year NFL wide receiver.

Pyle said 55 percent of proceeds remain locally and 45 percent assist New Life Ministries, which is opening a 50-bed medical clinic/hospital later this year.

Organizers are hoping to assist fundraising by bringing in more well-known celebrity athletes, and Pyle said Womack and wife Janet have expressed an interest in assisting the tournament with recruitment.

2LiveBeyond events may expand outside the Grand Strand, as Davis is considering an event with Virginia Tech alumni and other past participants have inquired about hosting events elsewhere. “We might see the initiative break free from just Myrtle Beach, but it will always be our team focusing on the 2LiveBeyond Celebrity Gala and Golf Tournament here,” Pyle said. “What I’m learning is for children in need, our area is one of the most underserved areas in the state. That’s something I didn’t know three years ago.”

This story was originally published June 13, 2016 at 7:37 PM with the headline "2LiveBeyond gala and tournament raises $70,000 and plans move to late April."