MELBOURNE, Fla. – High school golf players in Brevard County will be hitting the links with a little more school pride this season.
They’ll be playing with new bags thanks to one small business and an owner who wanted to give back.
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Anne Moon of Moon Golf purchased more than 250 golf bags with individual school logos for every public school in the county.
“The golfing community in Brevard County has been great to us so it just felt right to give back and support them,” said Moon, moments before the start of the store’s giveaway event.
Students, coaches and athletic directors spilled out into the parking lot traffic lanes in front of her store in Melbourne.
Pam Brockmeyer, girls’ golf coach at Cocoa High School, took photos of her players standing next to their new bright orange bags with the school’s tiger logo on the sides.
“These bags will mean everything to my kids,” Brockmeyer said. “They’re going to look like a team and stand out in the crowd.”
Moon said she felt grateful that her business has grown in the last few years as people looked for more outdoor activities during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“A lot of people got out and started playing golf, so it only made sense for us to be able to give back to our community here in Brevard County,” Moon said. “I was a high school golfer and a collegiate golfer so I know having a team bag gives you a sense of pride.”
Moon partnered with the nonprofit, Brevard Random Acts of Kindness (BRAK), to help coordinate the donations.
“I’m a dreamer and a thinker. I’m constantly trying to come up with ways to make a big impact,” Moon said. “But I’m very busy and don’t always have time to execute them.”
BRAK chairman, Mick Graham, said his nonprofit worked with the Moons during the pandemic on another project. They offered a grant to one small business that was struggling.
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“That went really well,” Graham recalled. “We got a lot of support from that and they said we want to do something bigger and better.”
Moon came up with the idea to reward high schools as she was driving on a road trip.
“I was reflecting on how fortunate we’ve been during such a crazy time in our lives and I thought (there are) a lot of schools, they go to these tournaments, and they don’t have team bags, and if they do, they’re very old,” she said.
BRAK called the schools to find out how many players needed a bag and did the research on each school’s logo. They also worked with Sun Mountain Golf Bags who supplied the bags at a reduced cost.
Lori Claro from BRAK remembers reaching out to each school.
“First, they thought it was a joke,” Claro laughed. “They were like, ‘What is this? Who is providing these random acts of kindness?’”
Claro made a call to the school district to explain. That’s when the mission became clear to everyone.
“They realized this is something really unique,” Claro said. “They have been blown away by (Moon Golf’s) kindness. They’ve told me it’s been such a blessing.”
Carl Smith, Astronaut High School coach, was in attendance to pick up eleven bags for his team. They are white with maroon lettering and the schools War Eagle mascot logo on the side.
“Oh, this is great,” Smith said. “We were talking about getting new bags last year and we just didn’t have the funds to do it.”
Many of the coaches and athletic directors had similar stories to tell.
Lori Claro nominated Moon for the News 6 Getting Results Award.
“I thought, ‘What greater person who is giving and loving?’” Claro said. “We had this event going on with the golf bags and I thought, ‘What better way to honor her?’”
Anjani Sharma and Eve Looby, juniors at West Shore High School, were excited to play with their new team bags.
“It’s amazing that a local company is sponsoring these bags,” Sharma said. “To get a team bag that everyone will have is something special that we can look forward to. We’ll all match.”
Moon said that’s the exact reaction she was hoping for. Giving back to the high schools reminds her of her own youth playing in high school and college.
“One of the greatest things was showing up to a match and having your team bag on your shoulder, there’s a sense of pride,” Moon recalled. “Just being able to compete and represent your school that’s something I’ll never forget.”
As the last players and coaches walked away with their new bags, Moon reflected on the event.
“This is a great day. A great day for high school golf in Brevard County and we’re just glad to be a part of it,” Moon said.
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