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March 20, 2007
DORAL, FLORIDA
LAURA NEAL: Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you so much for joining us. Today's events are part of a great week that we have in store for us at Doral Resort and Spa as part of the first World Golf Championships CA Championship at this esteemed venue. This week's tournament is part of a five-year sponsorship between CA and the World Golf Championships, which began in January 2006.
In addition to a world-class tournament, CA is committed to making the very most of its partnership, both on and off the golf course. And to that end, I'd like to bring up Bill Hughes, senior vice president, corporate communications for CA, to share a little more insight into CA's golf vision and the many great things they are doing for golf fans of all ages this week.
So we have several esteemed guests, some little ones in the back you'll meet in a few minutes, and without further ado, I'd like to bring up Bill.
BILL HUGHES: Thank you, everybody. It's good to be here. I can't tell you how excited I am to be down here in Miami. Just 48 hours ago, I was on a golf course in Greenwich, Connecticut, but I wasn't playing golf. I was actually sledding with my two daughters. It was freezing cold. It was packed ice of eight inches and it was 23 degrees. 80 degrees, green, and now a little bit overcast trumps 23 degrees every single day of the week. So I'm glad to be down here.
But it's not only exciting for me to be down in Miami for this great event, but it's a pleasure to represent more than the 14,000 CA employees around the world and share our company's excitement about hosting the inaugural CA Championship.
As a sponsor of the World Golf Championships, CA is proud to be paired with the International Federation of PGA Tours and work hand in hand with the PGA TOUR, Doral Golf Resort and Spa and South Florida Golf Foundation to bring one of golf's premiere events to the great City of Miami.
Without question, the CA Championship is the centerpiece of a fully integrated marketing and sponsorship program designed to leverage CA's visibility among its customers and partners around the world. And this week, we will have more than 150 CA customers here in what will be a spectacular event.
As one of the world's largest software companies, CA's customers and partners span the globe. We believe that the CA Championship provides us with a unique opportunity to grow new business relationships and strengthen existing ones.
In addition, the CA Championship will serve as another extension of our company's long vision and values rooted in giving back to the communities in which we live and serve. This week, CA is partnering with the South Florida Golf Foundation for the Birdies For Charity Program. The program collects pledges based on the number of birdies shot during the tournament. These pledges are then distributed to local participating charities. In fact, last year in 2006, more than 28 charities participated and received 155,000 in collected pledges and matching funds from the South Florida Golf Foundation. So it's a great thing that we do.
In addition, following the tournament, CA will be donating the contents of a six-foot tower of golf balls to be shared equally between Miami's Boys and Girls Club and Miami's First Tee organization. If you have not seen this six-foot tower of golf balls it's extraordinary, and heavy, I'm told. The tower of golf balls will be the focus of a raffle for all the tournament attendees to enter with a chance to win an all-expense trip to Doral and the 2008 CA Championship, as well as a complete set of Bridgestone golf clubs and a one-year supply of Bridgestone golf balls.
CA is also donating more than 600 daily ground passes to several charities, including 400 daily passes to South Florida Foundation, 120 daily passes to Miami Boys and Girls Club, and 80 daily passes to Miami First Tee.
Now I'd like to bring up Alex Rodriguez-Roig, the executive director of Boys and Girls Club of Miami. Alex has been with the Boys and Girls Club for ten years and became the executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of Miami in 2003. In a very short time, Alex has expanded services and activities to the children while increasing the all-important cash portion of the organization. The Boys and Girls Clubs of Miami are probably in the strongest position it has been in years as a result of your leadership, and we appreciate that.
In 2005, just by way of background, Alex was selected as a Top-100 People of Like Minds by Florida International Magazine. He was also awarded the Heart of the Community award by the Florida Marlins for his work in the community, and recently, he was awarded the New Executive of the Year by the Boys and Girls Club of America.
For those of you who have not met Alex, and I met him today, you can feel his passion and his commitment and he is truly impressive and inspiring. And that makes it all the more worthwhile that we are pleased to donate 14 complete sets of golf clubs and bags to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Miami, tripling the number of sets that you currently have.
This donation, by the way, is on top of CA's already existing arrangement with the Boys and Girls Club of America of $4.6 million. So we have a strong commitment with the Boys and Girls Club of America and we are proud of that relationship.
So, Alex, thank you for all of your hard work and commitment, and thank you very much on behalf of all CA employees worldwide.
ALEX RODRIGUEZ-ROIG: I guess I'm humbled, and at the same time concerned that you know so much about me. (Laughter).
But I just wanted to say on behalf of the Boys and Girls Club of Miami-Dade, we are truly humbled to be here today and grateful to provide, not only these kids here, but the other 14 kids that are going to be receiving golf sets, the opportunity to experience this great sport that, as we know, many children in the circumstances we serve don't normally get that opportunity.
Our mission is to provide a safe environment for the children, to provide them with the opportunity to grow and be inspired and become productive citizens in our community. This is just part of that by providing them that opportunity.
And we thank the PGA TOUR, we thank CA for this incredible honor, and we thank everyone in the community. Thank you very much.
LAURA NEAL: Thank you, Alex. I'd like to bring up Eddie Carbone, Executive Director of the CA Championship, to say a few words on behalf of the tournament and the PGA TOUR.
EDDIE CARBONE: Thank you, Laura and Bill. We look forward to working for many years with CA and with the Boys and Girls Clubs. The PGA TOUR has a tradition of giving back, and I think the tradition of the World Golf Championships is really a great tradition. Basically the commitment to the First Tee programs throughout south Florida and throughout the nation is going to make a difference and help grow this game and help provide opportunities for young men and women to play this game and love this game and watch our star athletes on the PGA TOUR.
When I was a young man, I got into the game as a caddie, and I think it's been difficult over the years to see those programs kind of go away. I just absolutely love the fact that CA's commitment to kids matches the PGA TOUR's commitment and a long-standing tradition of the South Florida Golf Foundation raising dollars for charitable causes that are directed towards young men and women.
I would also like to point out, too, that CA has been a great partner with us so far. They have a huge presence, and you can see their wonderful commercials with Retief Goosen and David Howell on the lighter side, loosening up those guys. I think it's great stuff, and it really helps promote this event. This is a global event. Just the way that CA is a global company with 14,000 employees worldwide and reaching over 140 countries worldwide, really matches well with the World Golf Championships as we broadcast out to 450 million homes and 200 countries.
The other thing that's great about this week, and just can't wait for it to get started, is that we'll see so many young men and women out here watching the word's best athletes competing on Doral's famed Blue Monster. And it's great because kids 12 and under do get in free to this tournament; kids 13 to 18, it's only $10 to get in. So I can't think of a more family-friendly environment than a PGA TOUR event, but especially this World Golf Championships down here at Doral.
So I want to thank Bill and Mike Paradiso and Keith Turco and all our good friends at CA for what they are doing for us here at the CA Championship and for the game of golf. Let's hear it for our young men and women up here. This is beautiful. (Applause). I'll turn it back over to Laura.
LAURA NEAL: Thank you all for joining us today.
End of FastScripts
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