To The Herald-Whig:

On behalf of the Pepsi Little People's Board of Directors and Advisory Team, I would like to thank everyone in Quincy and the surrounding areas who helped make the 36th annual Pepsi Little People's Golf Championships one of the best ever.

A total of 529 players aged 3 through 21 entered this year's event, an exceptional number considering the economy and the fact that there were 30 other junior golf tournaments being played at the same time.

Since 1974, Pepsi (now Refreshment Services Pepsi) has been our major and name sponsor. Our thanks go to Roy Nelson, Randy Boyer and Ron Vecchie for their continued support of the tournament throughout the past 36 years.

Our thanks also to our six competition golf courses and their staffs: Matt Burry at Westview; David Morgan at Spring Lake; Katelyn Dorsey and Derek Dicks at Knights of Columbus Par-3; Allen Brinkley at River View in Canton; Tami Webber at Arrowhead Heights in Camp Point, and Mel Blasi at Harry Mussatto (WIU) Golf Course in Macomb.

The tournament would not be successful without the help and support of some 300 volunteers, who work diligently before, during and after the tournament.

We greatly appreciate the generosity and cooperation of the many local sponsors, and the people at Gem City Ford and Little Jess Jeep, who donated vans for transportation.

Thanks also to Holly Cain and her staff at the Quincy Convention and Visitor's Bureau for their help and support throughout the tournament.

We were delighted to be able to offer scholarships to 11 boys and girls through our Pepsi Little People's Scholarship Program, full scholarships to two First Tee participants from Massachusetts and North Carolina, and one partial scholarship to Connor O'Neil from Liberty, Ill.

Throughout the years, I have had many thank you notes from people from all over the world who participated in Pepsi Little People's. The underlying theme of all was that Quincy was the friendliest community of all host cities, and they love to come back.

Since 1974, this community has helped us maintain our reputation as the third largest junior golf tournament in the world, and one of the best organized junior golf tournaments, providing exceptional tournament experience for young golfers from all over.

Our thanks again to everyone for their continued support of Pepsi Little People's.

Nan Ryan

Founder and executive director

Pepsi Little People's

Golf Championships