Since the beginning, First Tee – The Lowcountry has been something that we as a community have built. Our neighborhoods came together to support its efforts; our friends and neighbors pitched in with either their financial help or their own time and talent to be an active part of First Tee’s mission. It has been an all-hands-on-deck mission to help our young people flourish through life skills lessons and instruction in the game of golf.
As a volunteer, Tom LeBlanc is one of many. But what he has brought to the First Tee, the journey that brought him here, is emblematic of our community’s full embrace of this vital institution.
“Tom is truly an inspirational guy. His speech at the groundbreaking ceremony for the improvements at the Pleasant Point practice facility had everyone in the room ready to go out and accomplish something!” said Pat Zuk, executive director. “His lifetime of experience and giving back is really remarkable.”
Growing up in a blue-collar family of eight siblings, LeBlanc learned at a young age that achievements must be earned through hard work and perseverance. That ethos shined brightest on the athletic field, where he established himself as a multi-sport standout in football, basketball, and baseball.
Tom LeBlanc
As a Little League All-Star, he earned the the Lester LaRoche Award as the league’s most sportsmanlike player. As a junior in high school, he was named First Team All-County on both offense and defense after riding a bench for three years. While earning two master’s degrees at Springfield College, he was also starting defensive cornerback on the football team. His career in education with the Department of Defense took him across Europe, where earned the title Coach of the Year from Stars & Stripes.
Yet he’s quick to credit all of these achievements to the people who were there to guide him. “I became a success story because of all the people who helped me, inspired me, and believed in me,” LeBlanc said. “It continues to be my turn.”
As LeBlanc’s college football coach, Ted “Tiger” Dunn, was fond of saying, “The more you give, the more you keep. The more you save, the more you lose.”
That mindset of selfless giving is what drove LeBlanc, like so many of us in the Lowcountry, to pitch in and help First Tee – The Lowcountry enrich our children and change lives.