I have been to some really great charity events over the last few decades in the mattress industry and the Sleep Train Charity Golf Classic was no exception. As a matter of fact it was without a doubt one of the best golf tournaments I have ever been to. The swag kit was terrific with my new free pair of sunglasses and stylish golf shirt, the cigar tent was a nice touch handing out stogies, cutters and fire for all that were interested, and of course the beer service. You didn’t have to wait for a cart to roll around, they had coolers full of your favorite frosty beverages on almost every hole! But the best part of it all was the reason behind it.

Dale Carlsen and his wife Katie have been helping foster kids in the Sacramento area for at least the last 10 years with programs like their Ticket To Dream foundation. The money raised helps provide essential items like shoes and school supplies. In addition, the money supports transition programs into post secondary educations or independent living. There are 542,000 children in foster care on any given day in the United States and 66% of those kids leave foster care without a high school degree. They deserve something better and thanks to the entire Sleep Train organization and the mattress industry, they are getting it.

My hat is off to the Serta/Simmons and Tempur/Sealy groups for paying $155,000 for a three day ski trip in Deer Valley with Steve Stagner and Dale Carlsen to raise a total of $310,000 with just one auction item. I am guessing the two groups will be going at different times but if I was Steve and Dale, why not bring them all on the same trip and have a downhill bump run/race to see who pays for the trip? Just a suggestion. You could then Go Pro the whole thing and sell access to the video/crashes to raise more money. That is another drop the mic, walk off of the stage idea right there. Maybe not, I guess they will have to decide.

Many thanks to Brian Baxter and the other leaders and volunteers of this event. Dale is a class act on so many levels and it is obvious when you are around this group for any period of time. They make it a lot of fun for everyone attending and create some much needed awareness about foster children and the struggles they face. I know I will never look at that the same way again and will be there for Dale whenever I can to support what they are doing. Excellent job to all!