The tournament is organized by members of the family of the late Jason Ray, who wore the costume of Rameses, the University of North Carolina mascot. Ray, 21, was killed while walking along the side of a road in New Jersey, where the Tar Heels basketball team was competing in the NCAA Tournament in 2007. His donated organs saved four lives, and his story was documented by ESPN’ s E:60. 

In life, Ray was dedicated to helping others. At 13 years of age, he went on a mission trip to Puerto Rico, followed by Haiti and Honduras, to help at a orphanage. By the time he was 21 he’d been on three mission trips and was dedicated to helping those less fortunate. His legacy lives on through the Jason Ray Foundation, which is on a mission to raise $1 million to name the Organ Transplant Center at UNC Hospital after him. Since its inception in 2007, the foundation has raised $100,000 to endow a scholarship to UNC’s Kenan Flagler School of Business.

Members of the winning foursome of the golf tournament will receive prizes from Nike, Polaroid, Bulova, Golf Digest, All American Sports Memorabilia, and other sponsors at a dinner and awards ceremony at River Run following the tournament. This year’s winning foursome will each receive a Nike VR Pro Driver. The keynote speaker at the awards ceremony following the tournament will be Wake Forest Baseball Coach Tom Walter, who last year donated a kidney to one of his Demon Deacon players. The event will also be attended by sports team mascots such as Rufus of the Charlotte Bobcats, Sir Purr of the Carolina Panthers and Rameses and cheerleaders from UNC. 

New this year, the silent and live auction event will be held the night before the tournament at River Run. The auctions will feature sports tickets, sports memorabilia, vacation packages, beach house vacations, and many other items. 

All the forms are available at www.jasonray.org  Donations for the silent or live auction, are being accepted, and donation forms are available on the Web site as well.