Staff of First Tee - Coastal Carolinas
Ed LaPierre
Executive Director
[email protected]
Patrick O'Brien
Program Director
[email protected]
Patrick O'Brien attended Coastal Carolina University and graduated in 2014 with a bachelor's degree in Recreation & Sport Management. After completing his internship with the Northern Texas PGA running both Junior and Section tournaments, he returned to Myrtle Beach and worked at the Dye Club in Barefoot Resort until the opportunity opened up to take over as the Program Director for The First Tee of The Grand Strand. He decided to get involved with First Tee due to the impact golf had on him as a junior golfer and wanted to share that same experience and life enhancing values the sport and program provide. One of those values being Confidence. Confidence is his favorite Core Value because it is the most important thing to have while playing golf. Without belief in yourself you are unlikely to succeed.
Terry Mauney PGA
Associate Program Manager
[email protected]
Terry has been with The First Tee - Coastal Carolinas since 2012. He is a quarter century Class A PGA since 1980. Terry was on the PGA Tour from 1977-1982 and then the Champions Tour from 2001-2005.
Contact Terry regarding programs in North Brunswick County
Cameryn Smith
Associate Program Manager
[email protected]
Cameryn has been with The First Tee - Coastal Carolinas for 14 years. She was a charter member when the chapter first opened in 2005. She went to a number of national participant opportunities including Pebble Beach. Cameryn received a golf scholarship and attended Queens University of Charlotte where she finished her college career with the lowest scoring average on the team. Cameryn majored in Communications and will also be working on getting her PGA Class A certification.
Contact Cameryn regarding programming in South Brunswick County and North Myrtle Beach and regarding LPGA Girls Golf Programs.
George Brooks
Associate Program Manager
George@FirstTeeCoastalCarolinas.org
George was first introduced to the First Tee while caddying at Peeble Beach Champions Tour tournament in 2008. He was very impressed by the kids and how well they behaved. He met the ED from the Raleigh Chapter and did not reach out to him until about 3 years later, at which time he was directed to reach out to the Brunswick Chapter, which he did and history was started then. They are going into their 10th year of programming in the Eastern Region and still going strong.
Contact George for programs and special events in New Bern
Eddie Hopeck
Associate Program Manager
[email protected]
Eddie is a graduate of Coastal Carolina University and has been with the chapter since the beginning of 2019. He is now the Program Manager for both Horry and Georgetown County areas. First Tee provides and opportunity to expose the next generation to this great game, but most importantly it allows all involved with the program to grow as individuals. My favorite core value is Honesty. The game of golf relies on this core value more than any other sport, as it is a game of self-governance. Also it is important to exercise this core value in your everyday life, as it will lead to lasting and impactful relationships. Eddie is passionate about growing the game of golf, creating life-long golfers, and impacting the lives of young people all across the chapter!
Shannon Parks
Event Planner/Coordinator and Marketing & Communications Manager
[email protected]
Shannon has been with The First Tee as a volunteer since 2009 and became Administrative Assistant in 2013. She was introduced to The First Tee through her daughter, Cameryn. In her free time she enjoys traveling and spending time with her two children.
Contact Shannon for questions about special events, Player Cards, raffles, donations or other general questions.
Nisey Sebak
Bookkeeper
[email protected]
Nisey joined the First Tee – Coastal Carolina team in August 2021 as the bookkeeper. As a life long educator with 30 years of operational experience with Sylvan Learning Centers nationally and as a business owner in Ohio, she has focused her life on getting kids excited about their individual strengths. The mission and goals of First Tee – Coastal Carolinas align to that same belief. Even though she may not be a golfer, she looks forward to applying her knowledge of numbers, time management, organization and planning for goal achievement to help kids grow and thrive.
Michele Bessette
Administrative Assistant
Michele has a Bachelors in Community and Health Administration and a Masters in Public Administration. She has worked for the last 25 years for the State of North Carolina – Division of Child Development. Children are very important to her and she takes great pride in always being active in her children and grandchildren’s sports teams, as a coach, statistician and the EMT. She chose to work for the First Tee because of the values they instill in the children. All the values are important, but Integrity is the most valuable to her!