NBA Alums Allan Houston, John Starks “Fore!” Raising Awareness, Funds for NKF

Pebble Beach, CA - Friday, January 19, 2018 

 

New York Knicks Assistant General Manager and Westchester Knicks General Manager Allan Houston – most renowned for his years as shooting guard for the Knicks – will temporarily trade basketball to tee off on Saturday, January 20^th during the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) Konica Minolta Golf Classic National Finals at Pebble Beach, CA. Houston will appear with another celebrated former Knicks and NBA player, John Starks.

 

Houston and Starks will join hundreds of golfers from across the country in the 31^st annual competition to promote kidney health, fight kidney disease and support living organ donation. Declaring, “Together we can make a difference,” Houston, a former #20 during his NBA career, is raising funds through the NKF Birdie Challenge by encouraging his friends and fans – Team H20 – to pledge $20, or any dollar amount they can, for each birdie he makes during Saturday’s round.  In addition to golfing with event participants, The Allan Houston Legacy Foundation (AHLF) will auction a special New York Knicks Tickets Together Game Experience to raise additional funds for NKF. Starks also will play a round of golf, and to raise even more, the John Starks Foundation is donating its own auction experience: a golf foursome (three players matched with a celebrity form the sports and entertainment worlds) for the 23^rd Annual John Starks Celebrity Classic to be held later this year in Connecticut.

 

Houston was personally inspired to partner with NKF by participating in the National Finals.  His father, Coach Wade Houston, is a legend in his own right and will be attending the event with his son.  Coach Wade, the first African-American basketball coach in the Southeastern Conference and a kidney cancer survivor, is a true testament of faith and resilience.

 

Houston also has a personal understanding of how living organ donation saves lives. “One of my best friends donated one of his kidneys to his wife and drastically improved her life. That’s why I am proud to partner with the National Kidney Foundation,” said Houston, who also is raising money for AHLF, which aims to transform the lives of young people, by training youth-facing leaders around the values of FISLL (faith, integrity, sacrifice, leadership and legacy).

 

NKF CEO Kevin Longino, who received a kidney transplant 13 years ago, will join Houston and Starks in the day’s golf action. “We welcome Allan and John to this year’s National Finals. I am excited to team up with them to emphasize the importance of living organ donation,” Longino said. “I look forward to the opportunity to play in support of greatly improving the lives of kidney patients and preventing kidney disease.”

 

The NKF Konica Minolta Golf Classic, a nationwide series of more than 30 golf tournaments held in major cities across the country, is The Premier Amateur Golf Event for Charity™ raising more than $3.5 million each year and exceeding $100 million to date. In 2017, NKF welcomed Konica Minolta as the national title sponsor of the Golf Classic. “Konica Minolta is privileged to be the title sponsor of this great event which is about much more than golf,” said Rick Taylor, President and CEO, Konica Minolta Business Solutions USA, Inc. “We’re proud to support the annual NKF Classic that has continued to raise millions of dollars and look forward to forging ahead in our partnership with NKF.”

 

The NKF Konica Minolta Golf Classic also works to raise awareness about kidney health by prominently displaying key kidney facts and figures along the golf courses.  NKF urges golfers and the public to make an explicit commitment to “Heart Your Kidneys” by learning about the kidney’s vital functions and help elevate the kidneys to the status of other vital organs such as the heart.

 

The national corporate partner for the NKF Konica Minolta Golf Classic is Insurance Auto Auctions / One Car One Difference. National Finals partners include HM Insurance Group, Michelob Ultra, AmeriHealth Administrators, Bridgestone Golf and Trinity Air Medical. National promotional partners are Global Golf Post, the Greg Norman Collection, PING, Skechers GO GOLF, and Tiffany & Co. For more information about the NKF Konica Minolta Golf Classic and the next opportunity to qualify for the National Finals at Pebble Beach, please visit www.NKFKonicaMinoltaGolfClassic.com.

 

30 million American adults are estimated to have chronic kidney disease—and most aren’t aware of it. 1 in 3 American adults are at risk for chronic kidney disease. Risk factors for kidney disease include diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and family history of kidney failure. People of African-American, Hispanic, Native American, Asian or Pacific Islander descent are at increased risk for developing the disease. African Americans are 3 times more likely than Whites, and Hispanics are nearly 1.5 times more likely than non-Hispanics to develop end-stage renal disease (kidney failure).

 

 

About Konica Minolta 

Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. is reshaping and revolutionizing the Workplace of the Future^™ (www.reshapework.com). With our comprehensive portfolio, we deliver solutions to leverage mobility, cloud services, and optimize business processes with workflow automation. Our  All Covered IT Services division offers a range of IT strategy, support, and network security solutions across all verticals. Konica Minolta has been recognized as the #1 Brand for Customer Loyalty in the MFP Office Copier Market by Brand Keys for 10 consecutive years and is proud to be ranked on the Forbes 2017 America's Best Employers list. Konica Minolta, Inc. has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for five years in a row. We partner with our customers to give shape to ideas and work to bring value to our society. For more information, please visit: www.CountOnKonicaMinolta.com and follow Konica Minolta on  Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter@KonicaMinoltaUS.

 

The Allan Houston Legacy Foundation (AHLF) is dedicated to the belief that the fundamental values of Faith, Integrity, Sacrifice, Leadership and Legacy (FISLL) can provide a foundation for all people to reach their full potential.

 

AHLF aims to train youth facing leaders to adopt, teach, and model the FISLL Life Fundamentals, producing an outlet for transformation and measurable growth for their young people. For more information, visit www.allanhouston.com.  Follow the FISLL movement, and join the conversation on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook @IAMFISLL.