The Stronghold Financials golf team consisting of Chase McClain, Todd Hilton and Ryan Landreth captured first place and “Red Jackets” with a score of 43 at the 12th annual South Georgia Technical College Jets Booster Club Sparky Reeves Golf Classic Tournament at the Griffin Bell Golf and Conference Center in Americus, Georgia.
Oakbridge Insurance’s team which consisted of Kevin Brown, Bray Bishop and Devin Gordon finished in second place with a score of 45 ad then Magnolia Manor’s team of Ty Kinslow, Steven Avant, and Chandler Studdard came in third place with a 46 score. Magnolia Manor won the tournament last year and finished in second the year before.Ther
Stan Gann captured “Closest to the Pin” award and Ronald Brown captured the “Longest Drive” award. Brown also won the firepit raffle and a cooler. Hunter Peak won the Brookstone grill and Devin Gordon and John Watford both also won raffles.
A total of thirty-five teams signed up to participate this year and there were 44 hole sponsors. The tournament was a three-person scramble which featured a shotgun start and special “Sparky” rules.
SGTC Athletic Director Jason Carpenter kicked off the tournament by welcoming everyone to the tournament and thanking them for their support of the Jets and Lady Jets basketball teams and the athletic program.
Dr. John Watford, President of South Georgia Technical College, followed and talked about the legacy that former SGTC President Sparky Reeves had left on the college, the community, and the athletic program and thanked everyone for their support. “We all appreciate what Sparky Reeves has done for South Georgia Tech and this community and this is a great way to support and give back to the Jets and Lady Jets basketball teams. We appreciate each of you for what you mean to the athletic program and to the college.”
Kevin L. Reeves, son of SGTC President Emeritus Sparky Reeves, also thanked everyone for participating. “On behalf of Dad and our entire family, we thank you for your support today and over the past years. Many of you have played here all 12 years. Dad loved our family, South Georgia Technical College and the Jets and Lady Jets intercollegiate athletic teams. This golf tournament was his way of giving back to the SGTC athletic program,” said Reeves.
The first tournament was held in 2015 and was planned to honor retiring President Sparky Reeves. He had been a driving force behind the success of the nationally recognized intercollegiate Jets and Lady Jets basketball program during his 11-year tenure as President of the prestigious two-year institution. The tournament was named in his honor in recognition of his leadership and support of athletics at South Georgia Technical College. This was the 12th annual tournament and over $135,000 has been raised to support the Jets and Lady Jets Athletic teams. This year, the tournament raised nearly $17,000 in support of the athletic program.
Even though President Reeves has passed, his spirit, enthusiasm, and love was felt as individuals quoted some of his favorite sayings such as “Big Time,” “Every Day is Special,” and “Sparky Strong.” In addition to Kevin Reeves and his wife Jenny; Sparky’s wife, Allene, and their daughter and son-in-law, Mandy and Ryan Young, were all present at the tournament to thank individuals for the support.
The teams that signed up for the tournament this year included: the Sparky Reeves Team; the SGTC Foundation Team, Stronghold Financials, Oakbridge Insurance, Magnolia Manor, Central Baptist Church, James Frey team, JW Werling Team, Tree Toppers, Citizens Bank of Americus, Jay Roberts team, Synovus/Pinnacle Bank, Trane Technologies, Hammos Painting & Pressure Washing, Georgia Power, Accelerated Physical Therapy, Austin Urethane, Parkers Heating & Air, Mitsubishi Electrc, Pineland Communications, Brookers Woodyard, Senior Select Insurance Group, Team Sapp,Garland, Williams & Associates, Dan Torbert Team, Lumature Wealth Partners, Phoebe Sumter, Mike Donnelly Team, Perry Brothers, Sumter Broadcasting, Martha Arrington Team and the GSW Foundation.
This was the 12th annual Sparky Reeves Golf Classic Tournament. The Ginger Starlin State Farm organization also did special Sparky cups for the event. Their team won the tournament in 2024. Magnolia Manor won in 2025, and in 2023, the “Sparky Reeves team” of Kevin Reeves, Brian Simmons and Stan Gann won. The Magnolia Manor team of Ty Kinslow, Steven Avant, and Bradley Kitchens won the tournament in 2022 and the Peterson team of Chandler Studdard, Corey Stallings, and Bray Bishop won the 2021 tournament. The Synovus team led by Buddy Guth, Jason Evans, and Jodie Hayes won the 2020 tournament and TSG took first place in the 2019 tournament with Brandon Horne, Kory Hobbs and Gatewood Ledbetter. The Georgia Southwestern State University Foundation was the 2018 tournament champion. Karl Booker and the Harrod Tree team won in 2017 and 2016, and the Hooks Agency was the winner in the inaugural tournament in 2015.
In addition to the teams who participated in the tournament, the hole sponsors that supported the event included: Dan Torbert, Sam Hunter, Barry & Tami Blount, Riccardi General Dentistry, Magnolia Manor, Lumature Wealth Partners, Century 21, Tree Toppers, Janis Webb, Sherrell Bailey, Sumter County Sherriff’s Office, Parker’s Heating & Air, Sparky Reeves Team, Mike Cheokas, Pineland Communications, GSW Foundation, Clinic Drug Store, Central Baptist Church, Phoebe Sumter, Dick Robbins, Café Campesino, Greg Maxwell & Associates, Hammons Painting and Pressure Washing, Randy and Nancy Jones, Buddy & Cherilyn Guth, Dwight Harris Boys Club, Montezuma Police Department, Horne Pecan Company, Innovative Senior Solutions, The Baldwin Agency, Citizen’s Bank of Americus, Wes and Jean Wheeler, Mitsubishi Electric, Austin Urethane, Accelerated Physical Therapy, Synovus/Pinnacle Bank, Mike Donnelly, Garland Williams & Associates, Kinnebrew Company, Gammage Print Shop, Gatewood, Skipper and Moore; Sumter County Parks & Recreation, Sharad Patel, Easterlin Pecan, and Pickle Construction Company.
Sparky Strong – Shown above are SGTC President Dr. John Watford, far right, Athletic Director Jason Carpenter, second from left, and members of the Reeves family; George Dieckmann, Jenny and Kevin Reeves, Allene Reeves, and Ryan and Mandy Young and Jets Basketball Coach Chris Ballauer; showing their support of the SGTC Sparky Reeves Golf Tournament Classic.