The 21st annual Pitt Charity Golf Tournament will be held Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2024, at Belmont Lake Golf Club. This year’s tournament features a notable lineup of participants, making the event especially meaningful and impactful in the ongoing mission to support organ donation and donor education.
Tom Walter, renowned baseball coach and recipient of national recognition for his heroism, will return for his third year. Coach Walter, whose generous donation of a kidney to a Wake Forest player garnered national media attention, continues to exemplify the spirit of organ donation. His participation highlights the importance of supporting organ donor education through events like this one.
Another North Carolina sports legend, Mike Fox, will also take part for the third consecutive year. Fox, recently inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame after an illustrious coaching career, spent 22 years as the head coach of the University of North Carolina and is recognized as the winningest coach in Tar Heel baseball history. Under Fox’s leadership, UNC reached the College World Series seven times, making his support for this cause particularly impactful.
Tournament Chair Sheila Martin, a living donor who gave her son, Jim Pittman, a kidney 28 years ago, will also be in attendance. Her donation gave Jim the gift of life until his passing on October 4, 2023—the morning of the 20th Pitt Charity Golf Tournament. Sheila will be celebrating her son’s memory by participating once again in the tournament.
Joining the event for the first time is Greenville resident Jim Slowinski, who is currently on the waiting list for a kidney transplant. Jim has launched a personal campaign to find a living donor, raising awareness of the critical need for organ donors. Committee chair Courtney Moss, a heart recipient who recently celebrated her 10-year “heartiversary,” will be in attendance as well.
“As Tournament Chair and Jim Pittman’s mother and kidney donor, I can say that Jim was always so grateful that he never had to suffer with kidney disease because he had a living donor who stepped in as soon as he became eligible for a transplant,” said Martin. “After a successful surgery, he felt that he and I should do something that would help educate others about the miracle of organ donation. Since he had been an avid golfer since he was 7 years old, he felt that a golf tournament would be a perfect way to bring people together for a great cause. So, in 2003, the Pitt Tournament was born. Even though Jim is no longer with us, we want the tournament to continue to grow in memory of him.”
A signature event in the region, the tournament raises awareness about organ donation, with all proceeds benefiting HonorBridge, North Carolina’s largest organ and tissue recovery organization.
