A Hole-In-One for Teen Suicide Prevention

A beautiful day, a great cause, and a wonderful group of supporters. On Friday, November 8th, a hundred and fifteen golfers joined Teen Lifeline and our Champion Sponsor ATD Precision Manufacturing on the green of the 19th Annual Firetag Invitational Golf Tournament to support Teen Lifeline and our teen suicide prevention programs.

Held at the gorgeous Scottsdale Silverado Golf Club , the Firetag Golf Tournament is one of Teen Lifeline's biggest events of the year, supporting youth mental healthcare by raising funds and awareness for our life-saving suicide prevention education, peer counselor life skills training, and 24/7 peer counseling hotline. (Learn more at teenlifeline.org/firetag).

Raising a Supportive Community for Arizona's Teens

The mission that guides Teen Lifeline's work is to prevent teen suicide in Arizona through enhancing resiliency in youth and fostering supportive communities. Just as our annual Connections of Hope Gala celebrates the connections of hope found through Teen Lifeline, our annual Firetag Golf Tournament celebrates community support for Arizona's youth.

In fact, the event itself takes its name from Jules Firetag, late president for the Jewish Community Center, a respected attorney, and an early, long-time supporter of Teen Lifeline. For Teen Lifeline, he is remembered as the first president of our Board of Directors, the presenter at our events, the comedian at our meetings, and a friend to us all.?He was always the first to volunteer his time, the first to challenge the “easy way out,” and consistently led with integrity, honor,?and?grace.

The Firetag Golf Tournament is a scramble-style golf tournament and a key fundraiser for Teen Lifeline. Virtual auctions run the week of the event in support of our suicide prevention efforts. The course itself includes unique, gamified events at several holes—such as the ball launcher, wheel of fortune, and drone drop, all described in depth later in this article.

Thanks to your support, this year's golf tournament raised nearly $100,000 towards Teen Lifeline and our life-saving services!

The Team Behind the Tees

Behind Friday's fun, lighthearted golf game was a group of passionate volunteers who organized it, driven by a shared commitment to youth mental health.

Event Chairs Randy Ek & Jeff Kauk —both members of our Board of Directors and sponsors for this event—used their expertise, funding, and connections to lead Teen Lifeline through another high-performing year at our annual golf tournament. Lanny Lahr, a close friend of this event's namesake Jules Firetag, continued his long-held service as Honorary Chair this year.

Volunteers from our community also supported the event by providing assistance in operating the day's activities.

It's thanks to the hard work and connections of our Chairs, committee, sponsors, staff, and volunteers that we secure the funding, operational support, and venue that make this event a success!

Tournament Winners: Team Awards

The tournament is not only a charity event—it's a friendly competition between its golfers. Congratulations to the top three foursomes of the 19th Annual Firetag Golf Tournament:

From out of thirty teams, the 罗杰斯 team number one took the number one spot in this year's tournament. Players Jeff Kauk , Michelle Gramley Kauk , Stephen Swan, and Matt VanCleave really brought their A-game! In fact, one of its players— Michelle Gramley Kauk —took their win a step further and also won the individual category for Women's Longest Drive.

Not far behind were Ryan Keeton , Mike Huston, Patrick Huston, and Erik Stone of The Shankapotamuses. Their stellar performance won them this year's silver medal!

Rounding off the podium is the CNC PROS foursome: Ray Beauregard Jr , Cornel Loghin , Sam Runnels, and Mark Reeder. Their great golf game earned them the bronze medal in this year's tournament.

Tournament Winners: Individual Awards

Teen Lifeline also recognizes individual golfers for exceptional performance in the tournament. Congratulations to the individual winners of the 19th Annual Firetag Golf Tournament:

The award for Longest Drive recognizes the players who shot their golf ball the farthest from the tee. Keith Waller (Men's) and Michelle Gramley Kauk (Women's) had the longest drives of the day.

Closest to the Pin is an award for, as the name implies, the players whose tee shots landed closest to the hole. Rob Sherman took the title for the Men's category, while Cary Kohatsu took the title for the Women's category. We also have a bonus Ball Launcher Closest to the Pin, which was awarded to Peter McDonald for getting closest to the pin at this year's Ball Launcher special hole.

Finally, Longest Putt is an award everyone competes for regardless of gender, with only one winner across all golfers. Longest Putt goes to the player who got their ball into the hole from the farthest distance on the green—and this year's pro putter is Max Lenn !

A Perfect Day on the Green

With a high of 66°F and calm winds, the weather couldn't have been more perfect for a day of golf!

Running the event day-of was in the hands of Teen Lifeline staff, volunteers, and the Scottsdale Silverado Golf Club's expert team. We are so grateful to our volunteers and Scottsdale Silverado for creating a flawless event experience for our guests.

Teen Lifeline's staff and volunteers delivered a meal to all players on the course during play. A beverage cart traveled around the course several times to provide players with drinks throughout the day. This way, golfers could focus on their games while enjoying Silverado's high-quality food and drink without interruption to their round of golf.

In addition, all golfers were treated to gift bags before they started their games. The gifts were a collection of event-only items provided by Teen Lifeline and the tournament's sponsors.

As players moved throughout the 18-hole course, there were several minigames they could take part in:

The Ball Launcher

Early on into the 18-hole game, players came across the golf ball launcher.

Players unlocked the ball launcher by making a donation at hole 5. With this air cannon, the player shoots their golf ball dozens of feet down the course for a head start on the hole.

The Wheel of Fortune

In the back nine, players tried their luck with the wheel of fortune.

For every $20 donation at hole 11, the player gets to spin the wheel of fortune for a possible advantage—such as a mulligan, -1 to your score, or even an automatic hole-in-one! Considering that hole 11 is a par 5, this can lead to an upset in the tournament standing...that is, if you manage to land on these boons on your first go (or second, or third...).

The Drone Drop

The popular Drone Drop hole returned this year, proudly sponsored by CORE Construction. To finish off their golf game, at hole 18, players who make a donation unlock a drone they can use to drop their golf ball as close to the pin as possible.

As the pilot flies the drone, players watch the feed from the tee. When the drone is hovering either 10 or 100 feet above the hole (depending on donation amount), players must predict where the ball will fall given wind conditions and the slope of the course—and, when players think the time is right, they drop the ball with the press of a button. How close do you think you could get to a hole-in-one?

#Firetag24: The Liveblog

The golf tournament was covered live on Teen Lifeline's Instagram Stories and Twitter/X in photos and video clips under the hashtag #Firetag24. Check the whole live blog out to relive the night in our #Firetag24 Instagram Story Highlights @teen_lifeline or on our Twitter/X @602248TEEN.

Grab your Team Photo from our Facebook Album!

Were you one of our golfers this year? Share and save your foursome photo from our Facebook album: 2024 Firetag Golf Foursomes.

What comes next?

Looking forward to the next event? Here's what Teen Lifeline has coming up:

December 3, 2024: Giving Tuesday

Giving Tuesday is the largest global day dedicated to giving back to the community—a major fundraising day supporting nonprofit work. In line with the spirit of giving, Giving Tuesday is always the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Often, donations to Teen Lifeline are matched by an anonymous donor on Giving Tuesday, meaning your donation makes double the impact on this day.

Follow us on social media to stay updated. Or, start a Facebook fundraiser now—templates available at teenlifeline.org/social-media-fundraising!

2025: Buy our Teen Suicide Prevention Awareness Specialty License Plate

Teen Lifeline's new Teen Suicide Prevention Awareness Specialty License Plate will become available for purchase from the Arizona Department of Transportation next year! $17 of every purchase of one of our license plates will go to funding Teen Lifeline's suicide prevention programs, enabling us to better support Arizona youth.

May 2025: Mental Health Awareness Month

Mental health is just as important as physical health, yet it's often overlooked in the day-to-day. During May—just in time for the end of the school year—Teen Lifeline joins the national movement to raise awareness about mental health, mental illness, and how to get help for yourself or a loved one. While our clinicians work in schools to assist teachers and students through the transition from finals to summer break, on social media, Teen Lifeline spreads awareness through educational posts on mental health and sources of support for you and your family.

Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, and TikTok for mental health education and resources year-round.

September 2025: Teen Suicide Prevention Awareness Month

Every September during Teen Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, Teen Lifeline raises awareness of teenage mental health, suicide prevention, and the resources available to the community. This is done through the Chains of Hope project where schools work together to create paper chain links with messages of hope for students to take from, our Messages of Hope PSAs filmed by student-athletes from high schools across the state, and an increase in the number of prevention education workshops with students, school staff, and parents.

Learn more at teenlifeline.org/tspa.

October 2025: Connections of Hope Gala

Connections of Hope is an annual affair—Teen Lifeline's biggest source of funding for our teen suicide prevention work. This cocktail chic gala includes a memorable program, entertainment, dinner, auctions, and the opportunity to provide hope to Arizona youth.

Learn more at teenlifeline.org/connections-of-hope-gala.

November 2025: 20th Annual Firetag Invitational Golf Tournament

Firetag Golf is an annual event—a relaxed day on the green with friends and family in support of teen suicide prevention. This scramble-style golf tournament includes a complimentary meal on the course during play, a virtual silent auction, minigames, and fabulous prizes.

Learn more at teenlifeline.org/firetag.

To learn more about Teen Lifeline's annual events and how you can get involved, please visit our website:

Thank you, everyone, for supporting Teen Lifeline and our Firetag Golf Invitational Tournament! You truly make a difference.