Encouraging Women, Girls and Communities of Color to learn and play recreational golf
The mission of Women of Color Golf is to increase diversity and inclusion in the sport of golf for women and girls through instruction, mentoring, networking, health and career-related opportunities.
Our mission is to use the game of golf, our mentors and the local business community to help young minority women from challenged environments improve their business awareness, opportunities in the world of commerce and most importantly, improve their health and well-being.
WOCG seeks to create a spark of interest and inspiration in the game of golf. This inspiration is then turned into action with organized golf clinics, recreational golf events, business networking & mentoring opportunities. WOCG started in 2014, and has introduced over 600 minority women & girls to the fundamentals of golf in the Tampa & St. Petersburg, Florida bay area and Washington, D.C.
Women of Color Golf (WOCG) and Girls on the Green Tee (GOTG-T) programs have grown into a nationally recognized community-based organization, with recent recognition by former President Barack Obama, as a U.S. White House Champion of Change for After School Programs for Marginalized Girls. WOCG has been featured in Forbes, Ebony, Black Enterprise, Golf for Her, Professional Golf Association (PGA) magazine, the African American Golfer’s Digest, Onyx Magazine – Women on the Move, Bay News 9, The Tampa Bay Community Network Sports TV, Tee Time Florida TV and several other local media broadcasts. The Women of Color Golf (WOCG), is also a recipient of the Tampa Bay Lightning Community Hero Award.
Clemmie Perry has over 20 years’ experience working for two Fortune 500 companies (Lockheed Martin Corporation and Florida Power & Light Company). At Lockheed Martin Corporation, Ms. Perry served as the Corporate E-Learning Training Manager. She was responsible for managing virtual learning teams and developing online corporate training materials for 130,000 Aerospace & Defense employees. At Florida Power & Light Company in Miami, she was responsible for electrical distribution systems training and the implementation of smart grid & smart meter technology training programs. She currently works for Sodexo, a global corporation, as the Quality &Training Manager in North America.
Clemmie earned her B.S. degree from Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, Florida and an M.S. from Nova Southeastern University, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
She is a member of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), Florida A&M University (FAMU) Alumni Association, National Football League (NFL) Cheerleader Alumni Association and Ladies Professional Golf Amateurs Association (LPGAA). She has served on the World Golf Foundation Diversity & Inclusion 2020 Task Force, the Women’s Golf Task Force and is a Board Member for the Florida Sports Hall of Fame (FSHOF).
Clemmie C. Perry is the daughter of Mrs. Doris Ross Reddick, the first African American female to Chair the School Board in Hillsborough County and she served on the School Board for three terms. Mrs. Doris Reddick is also responsible for establishing the Hillsborough County School, Office of Supplier Diversity to ensure equity and fair bidding practices for minority vendors. She held a long-distinguished career in the public-school system, serving in several leadership roles.
Hillsborough County Elementary School: Doris Ross Reddick Elementary
YouTube Video Doris Ross Reddick: Hillsborough County
Website: http://www.dorisrossreddick.com/index.html
Clemmie C. Perry is the granddaughter of Clemmie Ross James, who was a pioneer educator and civil rights leader in Tampa, Florida, who changed the lives of hundreds of African American students in the days of segregation. During the 1940’s, in Hillsborough County, in order to receive a teaching job, African American teachers were required to waive their Florida Teacher Retirement Savings. Mrs. James sacrificed her Teacher’s Retirement, to educate young black students in the Tampa Bay area. She worked for over 40 years as a Teacher and Assistant Principal at Lomax Elementary.
Hillsborough County School: Clemmie Ross James Elementary
You Tube: Clemmie Ross James : Hillsborough County Educator Series
Website: Univ. of South Florida; African American Teachers: Clemmie James Interview
Clemmie has established Women of Color Golf (WOCG) and the Girls on the Green Tee (GOTGT) program. GOTGT is a golf and mentoring designed by the Women of Color Golf (WOCG) for girls ages 9 – 17 years. The elementary years play a formative role in shaping a child’s self-esteem and confidence. These two attributes have an undeniable correlation with success in school and life. Having an early and positive impact here is this reason why WOCG has focused on working with the young school aged girl.
Over a five-week training the girls are introduced to the game of golf and coached by professional PGA players. Not only are they exposed to the game but to professional women to support them. At GOTGT, girls develop friendships with their peers and are mentored by caring and professional women who are accomplished leaders in their field. The quality training, exposure to the golf industry and creation of new relationships open the girls up to a world of possibilities they may not have had otherwise.
According to the National Women’s Law Center (2015), there are fewer opportunities for girls of color to participate in sports in and outside of school than for Caucasian girls their age. As such, girls of color do not reap the health, academic and economic benefits that are associated with participation. It further states that female athletes engage in better social behavior and report higher self-image, better employment outcomes and overall quality of life. It has also been long known that mentoring relationships have “powerful positive effects on young people in a variety of personal, academic and professional situations. “Ultimately, mentoring connects a young person to personal growth and development and social and economic opportunity” (Mentor: The National Mentoring Project, 2018). GOTGT, by strategically incorporating a sports curriculum and mentoring program, will help those girls who participate, with an opportunity to live a rewarding and enriched life.
The elementary program will be primarily implemented at two Hillsborough County Public Elementary Schools: Clemmie Ross James Elementary and Doris Ross Reddick Elementary. The schools are in under-served communities in East Tampa and Wimauma, Florida. The students at James Elementary are primarily African American (77.36%). At Reddick Elementary, the students are primarily Hispanic (78.95%). Most of the students at these schools are eligible for free and reduced lunch. Both schools provide limited options for girls’ sports programs.
WOCG, in collaboration with James and Reddick elementary, provides a supportive learning environment to high need schools in an effort to promote student success. As such, the new partnership will enable WOCG to contribute to student health and academic benefits that result from athletic participation.
Website: www.womenofcolorgolforg.
YouTube: Making a Difference
Women Of Color Golf | 700 S. Harbour Island Blvd #424
Tampa, Florida 33602
