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Stan Smith says Heritage Classic tournament supports more than 90 local charities and funds student scholarships
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Summary
Tennis legend Stan Smith told "Beaufort County Reports" that the Heritage Classic tournament has generated support for over 90 local charities and provides student scholarships of about $16,000–$20,000 over four years; he described donor matching and the tournament’s long local history.
Stan Smith, a tennis legend and chairman of the charities committee at the Heritage Classic Foundation, said the annual Heritage Classic tournament on Hilton Head Island has become a major local fundraiser that supports more than 90 charities and awards multi-year scholarships to students.
"There’s over 90 charities now that are being benefited by the tournament itself," Smith said, describing his role on both the charities and scholarship committees. He said scholarship awards for students typically range "anywhere from $16,000 to $20,000 over a four-year period" and that the foundation matches some donor contributions at a rate Smith described as 20%.
The tournament has, Smith said, deep roots in the local resort development. He credited developer Charles Fraser with starting the resort and the event roughly 58 years ago and recalled arriving on the island a year later. "We’ve probably had the most nationally televised tennis tournaments of any resort in the country," Smith said, citing long runs of events including the Family Circle Cup, the CBS Tennis Classic and what he described as the World Invitational. He also described the Harbour Town course layout as distinctive, with tight fairways and small greens that players continue to value.
Smith framed the event as both a sporting attraction and a philanthropic engine. He said the charities aided by tournament proceeds have been recognized for their work; "one of our charities this year was voted [among] the top charities in the country" from a pool he described as roughly 3,000 organizations.
The moderator closed the segment by thanking Smith for appearing on "Beaufort County Reports"; Smith said he hoped listeners would enjoy the tournament week.
The interview focused on the tournament’s charitable impact, scholarship figures, donor matching and the event’s history on Hilton Head Island. No formal funding breakdown, board decisions or government actions were discussed during the segment.
