The Blackie Wills Golf Classic & Gala, supports The Blackie Wills Community Leadership Fund, which has raised more than $1 million for charities in the past two years.
The Wills Group, a family-owned company headquartered in La Plata, Md., raised more than $525,000 at its second annual Blackie Wills Golf Classic and Gala that took place on Sept. 9, 2018 at Turf Valley Resort in Ellicott City, Md.
The Golf Classic and Gala support The Blackie Wills Community Leadership Fund, which was formed in 2016 as part of The Wills Group’s 90th anniversary. The Fund honors Julian Blacklock “Blackie” Wills, the third president and CEO of The Wills Group, and carries on his commitment to community and civic engagement.
The Wills Group is the parent company of SMO Energy, a leading provider of propane, heating oil and HVAC equipment in the Southern Maryland region, Dash In Food Stores, Splash In ECO Car Wash, SMO Motor Fuels, and operates Potomac Energy Holdings.
During the past year, the Fund has donated more than $448,000 to more than 35 charitable organizations across the Mid-Atlantic region to further the company’s community engagement efforts to end childhood hunger and ensure safe and healthy homes.
In 2018, The Blackie Wills Community Leadership Fund supported two partnerships – one with Share Our Strength, an organization focused on eliminating childhood hunger, and the other with Rebuilding Together, an organization that completes approximately 10,000 projects annually to repair homes, revitalize communities and rebuild lives. The Fund also provided support to the Maryland Food Bank, the Southern Maryland Food Bank and Lifestyles of Maryland, a Southern Maryland nonprofit organization that serves approximately 14,000 individuals by providing emergency assistance, transportation, housing and job training.
“Over the past two years, I’m proud to say we have raised more than $1 million for the Blackie Wills Community Leadership Fund, which serves as a significant driver for our efforts to ensure that our communities’ basic needs of food and shelter are met,” said Lock Wills, Chairman, CEO and president of The Wills Group. “The support we continue to receive for the Fund from our event sponsors, employees, and friends warms my heart, and I am humbled; thank you.”
Sponsors of The Blackie Wills Golf Classic and Gala include Platinum Level Sponsors – Bohler Engineering, Motiva Enterprises LLC, UST Services Corporation, PNC Bank, Ruppert Landscape, Petro Supply, Inc., Hopkins & Wayson General Contractors, S&D Coffee & Tea, Petroleum Management, Inc. and Lennox; Gold Level Sponsors – Jones & Frank, Samuel Coraluzzo Co, CWPS, Matrix Capital Markets Group, Car Wash Solutions, Eagle Transports, CITGO, R.E. Michel Company, Core-Mark, Shell Oil, Able Applied Technologies USA, and Exxon Mobil Corporation.
Other contributors include Baltimore Tank Lines, Brown Advisory, Due East Partners, Fired Up Promotions, Heritage Printing and Graphics, Innovative Control Systems, L&C Electric, Lane Marketing Group, MJH Project Inc., Myers Auto Service, PAPCO, Inc. and TEC Graphics.
The Blackie Wills Community Leadership Fund is a component of The Wills Group’s community engagement efforts, which are focused on helping to eliminate childhood hunger and ensure safe and healthy homes. Since 2006, The Wills Group has donated more than $2.3 million to communities across Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.
Please note that this year’s Golf Classic was postponed due to inclement weather and has been rescheduled for Monday, Oct. 29, 2018.
