NLC to lend PGA campus parking

Students and faculty soon may have to focus on parking as much as preparations for final exams; North Lake is lending the north parking lot to the EDS Byron Nelson Championship April 25-29.

In previous years, the Nelson, which is held annually at the Four Seasons Resort & Club on MacArthur, took place in early May and parking wasn’t usually much of a concern. But because of changes to the PGA Tour schedule, the Nelson will be played earlier than usual.

Some students and faculty may remember the problems encountered last year with the combination of Byron Nelson traffic and construction on campus. This year, North Lake officials are taking steps to minimize the impact the additional traffic has on the campus.

Tournament traffic will be limited to the north lot, which will be offlimits to students and faculty. Police Chief J.C. Drake also asks that students and faculty use only the Walnut Hill Lane entrance when arriving on campus during those five days.

Drake plans to have signage installed to direct students and Byron Nelson traffic to the appropriate areas. North Lake police also will be present to direct traffic at both the Walnut Hill and MacArthur entrances during the tournament.

Why does North Lake donate parking? The EDS Byron Nelson is somewhat unique among PGA tournaments in that its proceeds directly benefit the community programs of the Salesmanship Club of Dallas.

On March 8, representatives from North Lake met with club members and staff from the Salesmanship Club at the J. Erik Jonsson Community School in Oak Cliff to get a better understanding of the programs supported by the Byron Nelson.

Charlie Spradley, a club member, was on hand to provide background information about the club itself, which was founded by Dallas businessmen in 1920 to help children affl icted with polio. In the years since, the club has expanded its programs to include an urban school for at-risk children, along with family therapy programs and counseling provided without consideration of a family’s ability to pay.

The J. Erik Jonsson Community School is one of the more ambitious programs supported by revenue from the EDS Byron Nelson Championship. Dr. Mike Murphy, director of the Salesmanship Club Institute for Excellence in Urban Education, describes the school as the “most interesting and innovative place for figuring out what works and what doesn’t in mental health and education.” According to Murphy, the vision for the school is “building strong relationships with kids,” and “creating powerful learning experiences.”

During the tour of the school, Malinda Mason Miller, director of communications, shared some of the details that distinguish the J. Erik Jonsson Community School from other institutions. The fact that over 75 percent of students qualify for the free/reduced lunch program probably isn’t remarkable for a school in Oak Cliff; what is remarkable is that J. Erik Jonsson has a limited enrollment to keep classes small. Miller also mentioned that the Salesmanship Club considers family involvement especially important to the education process. Therefore, students enrolled at the school receive follow-up visits at home, and parents of students are encouraged to volunteer at the school.

Salesmanship Club members are also actively involved with the school. As the North Lake tour group passed the school’s library, Miller paused to point out the club’s “reading buddy” program, which pairs a student with a club member to work on reading skills.

Surprisingly, Miller also mentioned that Byron Nelson was very active with the reading program as well as the school in general. When asked about the extent of Nelson’s involvement with the school, Miller quoted a parent: “While Byron may no longer be with them, he left 300 angels behind.” Miller added: “This [the school] really is Byron’s legacy.”

And that legacy brings us back to the importance of the EDS Byron Nelson Championship.

The Byron Nelson has generated more money for charity than any other tournament on the PGA tour. Spradley said the tournament already has raised approximately $94 million and that the Salesmanship Club of Dallas hopes to break the $100 million mark with this year’s tournament.

Those are important numbers. Spradley and Miller emphasized nearly all funds for the Salesmanship Club programs come from revenue generated by the EDS Byron Nelson.

Miller said the use of North Lake’s parking lot has been important to both the tournament and the school it supports. In short, she said, “If it weren’t for North Lake, we wouldn’t be here.”