Cranes Lead the Way in Event Benefiting Children’s Charities

February 7, 2012

By PGA TOUR Staff

LA QUINTA, Calif.—Ben Crane, his wife, Heather, and Mike Meldman, chairman and CEO of Discovery Land Company, may have hosted the late-January event, featuring 18 other PGA TOUR and Champions Tour players. But it was 16-year-old Salathiel Logan who stole the show, sharing his personal story and giving testimony to the miraculous impact HOPE Farm has had upon his life.

The Cranes’ and Meldman’s Madison Day with the Pros raised more than $1 million, with funds not only going to HOPE Farm but also to The Children’s Village (Coeur d’Alene, Idaho), Safe House of the Desert (Thousand Palms, Calif.) and Love 146 (New Haven, Conn.).

HOPE Farm, which helps mentor and guide boys without fathers in the Fort Worth, Texas, area, welcomed Logan to the program when he was age 5. Despite his difficult start, Logan is an honor-roll student in high school with his eyes firmly focused on college.

“Seeing Salathiel up on stage speaking to the large audience was amazing. Since we began helping out at HOPE Farm, we have seen Salathiel since he was a little boy,” Heather Crane said. “It was powerful to hear him share his story with such poise and confidence. He clearly touched the room and all of our hearts. Seeing his development as a young man makes us want to be able to help even more boys so they can speak about their lives in a similar way.”

“Heather and I have had the privilege of putting on this fundraiser for seven years now, and it is by far the highlight of the year each time we do it,” Ben Crane added. “There is nothing more rewarding than using what we have to serve kids who need it, kids who may never even see our faces but know we are doing something significant that shows them they are cared for.”

Madison Day with the Pros also featured Crane’s fellow PGA TOUR players Stewart Cink, Rickie Fowler, Bill Haas, Ryuji Imada, Zach Johnson, Anthony Kim, Matt Kuchar, Scott McCarron, Ryan Palmer, Pat Perez, Scott Piercy, John Rollins, Webb Simpson and Scott Stallings and Champions Tour players Michael Allen, Steve Lowery, Tom Pernice, Jr., and Bill Rogers. Besides the 18-hole pro-am tournament at the Madison Club, Fox Sports announcer Joe Buck led the live auction, and Glenn Frey of the Eagles performed a private concert.

Madison Day with the Pros was produced through Discovery Land Company Foundation, the charitable arm of Discovery Land Company. It is the mission of Discovery Land Company Foundation to enrich the communities that surround Discovery Land Company developments by providing support to programs that serve children and families within those communities.