AKRON, Ohio — As the Kaulig Companies Championship gets underway at the legendary Firestone Country Club in Akron, the professional golf tournament is doing something new, partnering with the organization Folds of Honor to award $65,000 in scholarships to 13 children and spouses of fallen or disabled military veterans and first responders in Northeast Ohio.
"We have this great country because of our U.S. Military and all that they do for us, and these families gave the ultimate sacrifice, and it's the least we can do to help them along with their lives," Don Padgett, executive director of the Kaulig Companies Championship, said.
Founded by Lt. Col. Dan Rooney, Folds of Honor provides scholarships to the spouses and children of America's fallen or disabled military, and later expanded to include the families of first responders.
"Receiving a Folds of Honor scholarship might completely change the path of these either children or spouses," Sara Bush, senior director of golf relations for Folds of Honor, explained.
Although Bush didn't officially join the organization until 2018, she became intimately familiar with the Folds of Honor mission in 2014, when her best friend's husband was killed in Afghanistan during his sixth military deployment.
"It is one of those things that you see firsthand and you watch the tragedy of what these families go through," Bush shared, "and to know that the greater community stands behind them is so incredible."
Folds of Honor provided scholarships to the three children of Bush's best friend to attend private school.
"It cannot be underestimated the value of investing in these families, especially because of the sacrifice that they have faced," Bush added.
The investment Folds of Honor has made into the Eckert family, from Waterville, has assisted Tiffany Eckert keep promises to her late husband, Army Sgt. Andrew Eckert.
"The last conversation I ever had with Andy, he told me that he wanted the kids to have a good education, and he made me promise him that I would go back to school no matter how long it took," Eckert shared.
Eckert was killed on Mother's Day in 2005 while the 24-year-old was serving a second tour in Iraq. The Eckerts had two small children: Marlee, who was two months shy of her second birthday when her father died; and Myles, who was just one month old. Tiffany Eckert was 23.
"Marlee and Myles saved my life after I lost my husband," she told 3News.
Since her husband's death, Eckert has worked to keep Andy's name and legacy alive while teaching Marlee, Myles, and her third child Berkley to pay if forward. The lesson stuck.
In 2014, the same year Bush mourned the death of her best friend's husband in Afghanistan, the Eckert family went viral when CBS News did a story on a then 8-year-old Myles, who found a $20 bill in a Cracker Barrel parking lot and gave the money and a kind note to a man in uniform.
"One of the greatest lessons, I think, that I shared with my kids is to bless people with no expectation and that kindness always wins," Tiffany said. "Even when you can't see it, your goodness will come back to you."
Shortly after the Eckerts gained national notoriety, Tiffany became a member of the Folds of Honor Speaker's Bureau. She travels the country telling her family's story and speaking on behalf of the organization.
Tiffany, Marlee, and Myles received scholarships from Folds of Honor to advance their education, and in 2023, Tiffany graduated from Bowling Green State University with a bachelor's degree in human development and family science.
"I looked back on my own personal timeline and thought, 'Wow, how did you do that?'" she stated. "It showed me that I am a fighter and I am a survivor, and that I really defied the odds."
Eckert tells WKYC her education healed her.
"It changed my life, and it did heal me in a way that I don't think I would ever find anywhere else," she said. "This is what happens when you don't give up."
Eckert is now pursuing a master's degree in public administration at BGSU.
According to Folds of Honor, since 2007, the organization has awarded 52,000 educational scholarships like the ones giving to the Eckerts, totaling $244 million. Eckert will attend Folds of Honor Friday on July 12 during the second round of the Kaulig Companies Championship in Akron.
U.S. military, veterans, first responders, and a guest can attend the tournament for free after registering at kauligchampionshp.com.