Jay Ballinger Stays the Course for Kids

Those of you who are die-hard Dierks Bentley fans probably have met funny guy and stage manager Jay Ballinger.  Little did we know, the Louisville native hosts an annual celebrity golf scramble, benefiting Louisville's Home of the Innocents, where Ballinger and his sister were both under the custody of when they were adopted at birth.

The second annual "On The Course For Kids" will be held on Monday, September 19 at Quail Chase Golf Club, 7000 Cooper Chapel Road, in Louisville, KY.   Celebrities scheduled to attend this year include country music artists Jake Owen, Josh Thompson, Bucky Covington, and Miss Willie Brown among others, all of whom have toured with Dierks Bentley.

The two man scramble will have a shot gun start at noon on Monday, September 19, with an acoustic concert following the awards ceremony at approximately 6:45 p.m. Registration for golfers is $100 per person. Tickets for the concert are $15 in advance or $20 day of show. All proceeds will benefit Home of the Innocents.

Fans are invited to come out to watch the scramble and meet and greet with the celebrities. Although there is no charge for watching, donations can be made at the registration table or by visiting Home of the Innocents. Return for the intimate acoustic concert and know that the entire purchase price of your ticket will benefit the Home.

According to Louisville.com, "Ballinger has now found such a comfortable place working with Dierks Bentley that he has turned down opportunities to join the tours of Kid Rock and Bon Jovi."

Jay Ballinger, side stage, Boone, NC - 7-23-11

“I feel really lucky,” said Ballinger. “I look at some of these kids, I feel lucky that I had great parents who adopted me, let me chase my dreams, and I never had to spend a day in that home. I never had to be in that situation and placed in foster care and all that stuff,” he continued.

Last year, in the first celebrity golf scramble, Ballinger and friends raised nearly $47,000 for the Home.

“I was one of the fortunate ones,” Ballinger said. “I’m in a place that I can give back. If you’re in place that you can give back and you can afford to give back, I feel like you should pay it forward. And that’s what I’m doing. I couldn’t think of anyone else that deserves it more than children.”

Best of luck, Jay!  We hope you beat last year's total and surpass $50,000!  We've got a lot of DB Congress reps in Kentucky that I'm sure will want to support this worthy cause!

See ya on the road!

~Ronna
DB Congress Chair
Florida