Buffalo Inner City Youth Fan Club for Golfing, Inc.
COMBINING GOLF & EDUCATION FOR THE BETTERMENT OF CHILDREN

 

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News: The application for entry into Buffalo's "100 Black Men of America" for Hank Williams has been accepted and pending review for inclusion.  Click HERE for article on the program.

Click HERE for documents related to Hank's Military Credentials & Achievements / Click HERE for documents related to Hank's Professional and Academic Credentials &  Achievements

The Major Hank Williams Cup

This cup is awarded to high school teams in summer and fall. Competing schools include

Nichols High School
Coach Alex Jones
DaVinci, Hutch Tech, City Honors, McKinley High, Buffalo Performing Arts, Math & Science Academy, Westminster Charter School, Maritime Charter School, Park School, Oracle Charter School, and School No.17

Awards

1994 - Black Achievers Award in Industry from Buffalo Community Partnership at 1490 Organization
2001 - Man of the Year awarded from Buffalo Club of the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Womens' Clubs, Inc.

2002 - Awarded the Passing of the Torch award from the Gamma Phi Omega Chapter

2002 - Father of the Year given by Antioch Baptist Church Ushers Board #1

2002 - Leroy Coles Past Executive Directors Award from the Urban League of Buffalo

2003 - Lt. Col. Earl Woods Leadership & Physical Fitness Award from the University of Kansas

2007 - Man of Excellence Award from Mary B. Talbert Civic & Cultural Club

2008 - Golf Digest Junior Development Award from PGA, USGA and LPGA

2008 - Man of the Year Award from Empire State Federation of Women & Youth Clubs

2010 - Man of the Year awarded from Buffalo Club of the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Womens' Clubs, Inc.

2010 - Calvary Rock Ministry leadership Award from Bishop Kim Moses & co-pastor Rachael Moses

Other Awards

Eccpasa Award for providing a safe and drug free environment for kids in golf program

Man of the Year award from True Bethel Baptist Church

LPGA Wegman's Community Service Award

Proclamation and keys to the City of Buffalo presented by then Councilman Byron Brown

Major Henry S. Williams Jr. was born on a farm in Goldsboro, North Carolina in 1935. Henry learned early in life that farm life was not to his liking. He wanted “to get through school’ so that his time on the farm would be shortened. At the age of 18, he enlisted in the Air Force where he became a medical lab technician and was assigned to the medical corps for his 4 years of active duty.

His family has a long tradition of military service, the details of which can be found HERE.

Armed with the GI Bill. Henry enrolled in college in North Carolina to keep a promise he had made to his father. But he left a year later and relocated to Buffalo with some friends to find work. He took a position in the medical lab at Meyer Memorial Hospital and almost concurrently took a similar position at Roswell Park Memorial Institute. His desire for more knowledge reawakened and while working, he reapplied to college and joined the ROTC. Henry graduated from Canisius College in 1966 with a B.S. in chemistry joined the faculty at UB in the Department of medical technology as a clinical instructor and entered the military reserves.

Over the next two decades Henry would study at several different colleges earning a B.S. in medical technology, a Master’s Degree in health, science, education, and administration, an A.S. in nursing, a degree in mental health counseling and an assortment of Army Reserve certifications including that of senior nuclear, biological, and chemical instructor. He is a graduate of the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.  While in the Army Reserves, he was stationed at Fort Bragg, and received advanced training plus numerous badges and decorations, achieving the rank of major in 1985. It was at Fort Bragg that Henry became familiar with the father of a young golf prodigy named Tiger Woods.

Henry learned to play golf from a cousin and on one memorable visit south, Henry couldn’t get on a golf course. “There were about 100 black kids on the course, I never saw that in Buffalo.” He learned that the golf program was named after a fellow North Carolinian - Michael Jordan - thus it's popularity. Henry recalled this experience after a Buffalo community activist challenged him and other retirees to do something for inner city youth.

With a contribution from the Buffalo Community Partnership, Henry contacted several amateur and pro golfers and developed a program for high-risk inner city kids with a powerful message: golf would be used as a vehicle to learn about math and science, drug awareness and prevention, discipline and responsibility. The Buffalo Inner City Youth Fan Club for Golfing is now a year round program that has touched the lives of more than 500 youths since it’s inception in 1993.

Henry recalled his military days at Fort Bragg and contacted Colonel Earl Woods. Tiger Woods treated the inaugural class to a clinic, while he was in the area competing at the Porter Cup in 1994. In 2002 fifteen kids from the program and their parents were invited to Disney World as guests of the Tiger Woods Foundation. The experience lasted 3 days and included a clinic by ‘Tiger Woods, which was broadcast on ESPN. The last day was the 75th Anniversary of Disney and ‘Tiger was the Grand Marshal of the parade. The guests of the foundation came from Orlando, Dallas, Philadelphia, New York City, and Buffalo. The kids marched in the parade behind Tiger carrying their city flag.

The awards for the program and Henry are numerous, highlighted by the Buffalo All -America City Civic Empowerment Award and the Congressional Recognition Award. More important is the fact that participants in the program that stay for more than 1 year have a 100% High School graduation rate. Henry boasts that 23 former participants have graduated from college with B.S. degrees and 5 others have received Masters Degrees. Through golf, and generosity of heart by Henry and others, diverse city kids are learning about geometry, physics, etiquette and more importantly, life.

It was voted by the Board of Directors that Major Williams be given the status of "Emeritus".

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