Interview with Pat Patierno, U.S. Advocate for
International Trust Fund and co-director of the golf tournament
"Legacy of Hope" and official announcement of the events.
Legacy
of HopeI
Pat,
would you briefly describe what Marshall
Legacy Institute (MLI) is and what its relationship with International
Trust Fund (ITF) is?
MLI
was established pretty much around the same time as ITF, back in the late
1990s. It was the 50th anniversary of Marshall Plan. So, couple
of former military guys got together and established humanitarian and
nonprofit group that was involved in providing assistance to countries so
that they could eventually help themselves get out of whatever their
problem was. They came up with an idea of humanitarian mine action, more
specifically they focused on mine detection dogs.
MLI
was established in 1997, at about the same time ITF was established and I
became involved with both organizations because that was right at the time
when I became a director of the State Department Office of Humanitarian
Demining. We sort of grew up together, if you will, in the field of
humanitarian mine action. About the second of third year the two
organizations realized that there were opportunities to partner together
on some ventures, particularly in Eastern Europe, in
Bosnia
. We worked together first in some programs in Bosnia and later in
Armenia, the newest partnership is taking place in Afghanistan, which is
what this upcoming gulf tournament in the US is all about; to benefit mine
action in Afghanistan.
So,
they’ve been very effective partners over the last seven or eight years
since they’ve started working together all over the world not just in
Eastern Europe
.
How
can participation at one or both of the golf events help either
organization?
There
are certain costs associated with the event. At both sides we will have a
gulf tournament and then later that day a dinner with entertainment
program, which will be attended by some professional golfers of senior
circuit as well as some folks from the
Hollywood
. Obviously there is cost associated with that and we will add some more,
which will become proceeds that will benefit mine action in
Afghanistan
in the case of the tournament in Ojai in
California
.
If
people just want to come to the dinner it will be $200 dollars per plate.
Approximately one third of that amount we’ll be going to charitable
cause, the other two thirds represent the actual cost of the dinner.
So,
you don’t really have to play golf in order to be part of the event?
No.
People can go to the web site: www.marshall-legacy.org
and they can sign up just to
play golf, they can sign up just for the dinner, they can sign up for
both, or they can make a contribution without signing up for any event.
I
understand both events are huge organizational projects. How is all that
managed? Do you need any volunteers?
I
can’t speak for the one in
Slovenia
, Bernard, because it is still six months away, it’s going to be in
September, it’s not quite sure whether it is going to be on September 9
or 19 … but I can tell you for the one in
California
, on March 9, we don’t need any volunteers. We were very fortunate to
have a Rotary Club of Ojai, which has stepped forward, as there have
Rotary Clubs around the world stepped forward, to help with this mine
action project.
The
Rotary Club of Ojai is providing all the volunteers we are going to need.
That
is good news.
Yes.
And again, I can’t say enough about the Rotarians. I’ve traveled to a
lot of countries, both, when I was heading up the US program while at the
State Department but also as a representative of the ITF here in the
United States. I think I spoke in about sixty Rotary Clubs in last five or
six years. They’ve been all very supportive, if not in financial way
than certainly in political aspect. But good many Rotary Clubs around the
world including the Rotary Club in
Slovenia
have contributed to ITF and other such organizations.
You
mentioned that some professional golfers will participate at the event in
Ojai. Can you disclose any names?
Yes,
they will all be from what’s called the Champion Tour or the senior
circuit. Jim Colbert,
who won something like 32 events both on PGA and the Champions Tour, Jay
Sigel will be there, Bob
Murphy will be there, and Graham
Marsh will be there as well. So, four professional golfers and people
who will participate in the golf event will maybe get to play few holes
with one of those professional golfers.
And
from
Hollywood
we have Malcolm McDowell,
whose first movie was, I think, A
Clockwork Orange, and he’s been in a lot of things since then.
We’ll have also Jack McGee,
who’s been in a Backdraft and
he’s been regular on a TV show called
Rescue
Me.
We invited few other
Hollywood
names but haven’t heard from them yet.
Last
year we had Michel O’Keefe,
who played a caddy in Caddyshack.
He may come again this year but has not given us yet definitive word. And Meg
Foster, she’s done a lot of stuff on Star Track and many other
movies, she is actually a resident of Ojai, may also be there again this
year.
We
will also have a professional golf instructor by the name of Dr.
Joe Parent, who has written couple of books on golf. One is called Zen
Putting and the other one called Zen
Golf, which is sort of mind over matter thing. He will be giving a
clinic just before the event in Ojai.
Now,
in
Slovenia
, we are still trying to identify couple of professional golfers from the
European circuit. I am not very optimistic that we will be able to get any
of the professional golfers into
Slovenia
but we are trying and it is way too early to know exactly who if anybody
will show up for that.
For
those readers from
Slovenia
and its neighboring countries, who should they contact or which web site
should they visit to acquire more information about the September golf
event in Bled?
The
ITF itself is planning this. I am sort of their advisor on this since
we’ve been through this already in Ojai last year. Last year event was
such a success that director of the ITF, who was here for the event, he
didn’t play golf, but he started playing it afterwards and
will be playing here in couple of weeks, said that we should
organize similar event in Slovenia. ITF is working together with PR firm,
I think it is called Modra
celica, but you can visit ITF web site at www.itf-fund.si
and they have an article about the golf tournament. As we get closer to
September there will be more information available or people can contact
ITF for details on golf tournament or dinner, which will be attended by
many prominent government officials, including prime minister and foreign
minister.
Is
there any other event, similar to this that MLI organizes for the purpose
of fundraising?
MLI
organizes rather large dinner gala banquet in
Washington
,
DC
every fall. It is usually towards the end of October. More than four
hundred people attended last year’s event, including many members of the
Congress. It is sort of a “black tie” event but people can come in
business suits as well. For the last several years Master of Ceremony has
been George
Stephanopoulos, from ABC News. So, that is another event. But again,
if you want to contribute to MLI you can do that directly at www.marshall-legacy.org.
If readers of SlovInUS News would rather contribute to ITF they can do
that through MLI as well. They just need to make sure that they put down
that their contribution is to support ITF and MLI will make sure that ITF
gets their contribution directly.
