Emmy Award-winning actress Alfre Woodard will be a special guest at the 25th annual Rudolph Canzater Golf Memorial Classic events in Santee on Saturday, Aug. 1.
Woodard wrote the forward for Congressman James Clyburn’s memoir, “Blessed Experiences.” Woodard also voiced the forward in the audio version of the book.
“I am pleased to have my good friend, Alfre Woodard, join Emily and me to help us celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Canzater Classic,” Clyburn said.
“Alfre supports the mission of the classic, which encourages young people to follow their dreams and helps them pursue their goals. I look forward to the students and participants being able to meet one of the most successful and hardworking actors of her generation,” he said.
Woodard is an Emmy Award winner and Academy Award nominee. She has recently been seen in the film “12 Years a Slave” and on television in NBC’s drama, “State of Affairs,” where she played the president of the United States.
The annual event is being held July 31- Aug. 3 at the Lake Marion Golf Course, the Wyboo Country Club, Santee National and the Santee Cooper Country Club Golf Courses in Santee.
The proceeds from this annual event are used to help fund college scholarships and to establish endowments.
Students will be awarded scholarships, Dell laptops and Microsoft software packages to more than 100 high school graduates.
The total amount of college support being awarded this year totals nearly $400,000.
Since the Canzater Classic’s inception, the event has provided more than $4 million in college assistance.
The golf tournament was inaugurated as the PIC (Palmetto Issues Conference) Classic. PIC was an effort started by the volunteers of Clyburn’s 1978 campaign for South Carolina’s secretary of state to remain engaged in political activities.
“Candy,” as Rudolph Canzater was affectionately called, was one of those volunteers and an original PIC participant. His efforts helped lay the groundwork for Clyburn’s eventual election to Congress.
Canzater died in 1988 at the age of 49 from a ruptured aorta. The tournament was renamed and played in his memory the following year, as it has been every year since.
The Classic will begin on Friday, July 31 at 10 a.m. with the I-95 Health Fair at the Santee Conference Center. The Scholarship Awards dinner will be held at the same location at 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 1.
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