Jack Nicklaus Presents Ten Young People With Scholarships At U.S. Open

Jack Nicklaus with RBS Achievers of the Year Katrina Hickey and Dominick Ferrante and Martin Bischoff and Joe Barrow.

NEW YORK CITY, NY (June 18, 2009) – Dominick Ferrante, 16, from The First Tee of Nassau County (NY), and Katrina Hickey, 16, from The First Tee of Fort Smith (Ark.), two participants that have overcome family hardships, were named as RBS Achievers of the Year during an awards ceremony and dinner attended by Jack Nicklaus, RBS ambassador and Trustee of The First Tee. 
The RBS Achievers of the Year Awards, now in its sixth year, is a program created by The Royal Bank of Scotland Group, in conjunction with Charter One and Citizens Bank, to recognize outstanding participants of The First Tee and to help fund their ongoing education after high school.  Both Ferrante and Hickey will receive $10,000 scholarship awards while eight additional semifinalists will receive $2,000 each.

"This remains a program that we are very proud to support," said Martin Bischoff, vice chairman of Citizens Financial Group Consumer and Business Banking.  "Over the years the RBS Achievers of the Year program has enabled us to honor some truly remarkable young people, and this year's winners are no different.  They have our admiration."

“Golf Digest Publications has been very proud to be associated with the RBS Achievers of the Year Awards since the program’s inception,” said Tom Bair, vice president and publisher of Golf Digest.  “The mission of The First Tee is an important part of the game of golf and the core values it strives to achieve are integral to our brand and to our partners at RBS.”

In addition to Ferrante and Hickey, the other award recipients included:

• Donnie Black, 18, The First Tee of Pittsburgh
• Eric Dobmeier, 17, The First Tee of Charlottesville
• Kamio Espindola, 15, The First Tee of Phoenix
• Victoria Gillespie, 18, The First Tee of Fort Worth
• Jarrett Link, 17, The First Tee of Greater Sacramento
• Kathleen Rojas, 14, The First Tee of Modesto
• Kenneth Sabo, 18, The First Tee of Akron
• Marc Thompson, 17, The First Tee of Philadelphia

Please click here to learn more about their inspirational stories.

The RBS Achievers of the Year Awards recognize deserving students for accomplishments in their daily lives while overcoming difficult circumstances.  The scholarship awards are not based on academic achievement or exceptional golf skills.  The program rewards young people that exhibit The First Tee Nine Core Values while demonstrating leadership, community service and teamwork.  The First Tee Nine Core Values are honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, courtesy and judgment.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for these young people and it would not be possible without the continued support of RBS and Golf Digest Publications,” said Joe Louis Barrow, Jr., chief executive officer of The First Tee. “Despite the obstacles these young people have faced, they continue to exemplify The First Tee Nine Core Values. We are extremely proud of all of them for their achievements.”

Jack Nicklaus meets with reporters at the top of the Empire State Building after he and the national RBS Achievers for First Tee met for the lighting of the city’s most famous building.

Dominick Ferrante attends Walt Whitman High School in Huntington Station, New York.  He has been a participant at The First Tee of Nassau County in Long Island for three years.  When he was 7, his parents divorced and his mom became severely depressed.  Later diagnosed as a manic depressive, Dominick witnessed several suicide attempts by his mother. His father moved back to care for him and his younger sister, who is also a participant with The First Tee.  Much of his father’s salary goes toward medical costs to help care for his mother.  The little amount of money originally set aside for college has disappeared.  With the help of The First Tee, Dominick has learned to manage the things he can control, like his emotions. He has also developed reachable goals and made the high school golf team and is also on the honor roll.  His father volunteers at the Chapter and his mother recently visited the Chapter and watched her two children play golf for the first time.

Katrina Hickey is a junior at Mansfield High School in Arkansas and has been a member of The First Tee of Fort Smith for four years. During her childhood, her mother struggled with alcoholism and between the ages of 4-6, she lived in five different foster homes in several states.  Her grandparents eventually became her legal guardians.  During her first year living with her grandparents, she was often in trouble at school.  Her grandparents never gave up on her and enrolled her in The First Tee, which gave her a feeling of acceptance. Today she is a completely different person, caring and showing respect for others, and is an honest and responsible person. She would like to continue her education and have her grandparents see her graduate from college.

RBS enjoys a long history with the game of golf which allows the Group to provide opportunities to further the game’s development.  That commitment to golf extends to the United States where RBS has partnerships with The First Tee, the United States Golf Association and the PGA of America.  RBS’ efforts in junior golf provide opportunities for every young person to access the game and learn its inherent values.  RBS, Citizens Bank and Charter One Bank are proud to support The First Tee, LPGA-USGA Girls Golf, U.S. Open Junior Day, Kids On Course and JuniorLinks.com.  For more information, please visit www.rbs.com.

About The First Tee:
The First Tee (www.thefirsttee.org) is an initiative of the World Golf Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in St. Augustine, FL at World Golf Village, home of the World Golf Hall of Fame.  Its mission is to impact the lives of young people by providing learning facilities and educational programs that promote character development and life-enhancing values through the game of golf.  Since its inception in 1997, The First Tee has introduced the game of golf and its values to more than 2.9 million participants in 49 states and five international locations – Canada, England, Ireland, New Zealand and Singapore.   Former President George H. W. Bush serves as honorary chairman.

Media Contact: Steve Gerrish, The First Tee, (904) 940-4314 or sgerrish@thefirsttee.org

About RBS Group:
The RBS Group is a large international banking and financial services company. Headquartered in Edinburgh, the Group operates in the United Kingdom, Europe, the Americas and Asia, serving more than 40 million customers. The Group provides a wide range of products and services to personal, commercial and large corporate and institutional customers through its two principal subsidiaries, The Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest, as well as through a number of other well known brands including, Citizens, Ulster Bank, Coutts, Direct Line and Churchill.

Media Contact:  Fiona MaCrae, RBS Group, +44 (0) 131 5235659 or fiona.macrae@rbs.co.uk.

About Golf Digest Publications:
Golf Digest Publications is part of Condé Nast Publications and includes Golf Digest, Golf World, Golf Digest Index and GolfDigest.com.  Conde´ Nast, a unit of Advance Publications, includes consumer magazines and their Web sites, Conde´ Nast Digital, the Fairchild Fashion Group, the Conde´ Nast Media Group, and the Shared Services Centers.