Holiday Inn Club Vacations at Orange Lake Resort is celebrating its ninth year as the Central Florida host of the RCI Christel House Open on Monday, June 13. The annual event is held to support the Christel House mission of helping children around the world break the cycle of poverty. The tournament will be hosted at the resort’s 18-hole, Arnold Palmer-designed Legends golf course, recently voted as a Top 10 Orlando golf course by GolfOrlandoFlorida.com. Sponsorship opportunities are still available for participating in this event for a great cause.
Considered the largest single-day, charity golf tournament in the world, the RCI Christel House Open is spread out across 19 tournament sites spanning five continents. More than 1,800 golfers will tee off on this day for the charity—and 100% of the worldwide proceeds will go to programs and services that directly benefit the more than 3,000 children of Christel House.
The Christel House mission is a cause close to the heart for Orange Lake’s Chairman, Spence Wilson—son of Kemmons Wilson, founder of Orange Lake and also the Holiday Inn hotel chain—and Don Harrill, President and CEO of Orange Lake Resorts. Last year, the two visited Christel House Mexico—a school with more than 350 students that continues to rank in the top 10% of all public schools in Mexico.
Orange Lake Resorts was honored to receive an award this year from the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) for their philanthropic outreach programs, including their work with the Christel House organization. The presenter for this particular award at the 2011 ARDA Convention & Expo was Christel DeHaan, founder of Christel House and co-founder of Resort Condominiums International (RCI). Don Harrill, Orange Lake’s president & CEO and also ARDA’s 2011-2012 Chairman, comments on this award and Orange Lake’s relationship with Christel House: “Christel and her foundation create a brighter future for children and we’re honored to be one of the partners contributing to this positive change. Christel was one of the forerunners in timeshare and continues to keep our industry connected and focused on giving back.” .png "Top 10 Orlando Golf Course")
Orange Lake has partnered with the non-profit organization for the RCI Christel House Open since its inception in 2002 as the charity’s major site host. Last year, the company’s dedicated efforts helped to raise more than $100,000 for the Christel House mission.
Orange Lake Resorts will be covering the RCI Christel House tournament on Twitter via their @orangelakegolf account. Additional photos will be available after the event upon request. Please contact Brooke Doucha, Orange Lake Resorts Corporate Communications, at bdoucha@orangelake.com.
For sponsorship opportunities and more information on how you can play in this tournament, contact Cathy Duncan, Manager of Corporate Events for Orange Lake Resorts, at 407-905-1979 or cduncan@orangelake.com.
For more information about hosting golf tournaments and outings at one of Holiday Inn Club Vacations at Orange Lake Resort’s four courses, contact Kimberly Chase, Assistant Director, Golf Sales & Marketing, at 407-905-1378 or kchase@orangelake.com.
