Waste Management Phoenix Open, The Thunderbirds & TriWest Healthcare Alliance Donate $25,000 to USO and Arizona’s National Guard Emergency Relief Fund

PHOENIX, Ariz. – The Waste Management Phoenix Open, the tournament host Thunderbirds and TriWest Healthcare Alliance donated $25,000 to USO Arizona and $25,000 to Arizona’s National Guard Emergency Relief Fund at a Wednesday, March 9th check presentation at USO Arizona’s Sky Harbor International Airport Terminal 2 location. Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, Arizona National Guard Adjutant General Major General Hugo Salazar, TriWest Healthcare Alliance Vice President Scott Celley and 2011 Waste Management Phoenix Open Tournament Chairman Mike McQuaid attended the check presentation.

“Together with our partner, TriWest Healthcare Alliance, the Thunderbirds are excited to assist two great organizations, the USO and Arizona’s National Guard Emergency Relief Fund,” said McQuaid. “Both organizations do so much to support our service men and women and their families. We’re proud to back their efforts through monies raised during the 2011 Waste Management Phoenix Open.”

Arizona’s National Guard Emergency Relief Fund is the Arizona Army National Guard’s emergency financial assistance organization dedicated to “Helping the Arizona National Guard take care of its own”. Arizona’s National Guard Emergency Relief Fund provides emergency financial assistance in the form of loans or grants, to soldiers and their dependents when there is a valid need.

Through public donations, the USO fulfills its mission of lifting the spirits of America’s troops and their families. Through the USO, lives are touched through an extensive range of programs at more than 150 centers in 27 countries and at hundreds of entertainment events each year. Thousands of USO volunteers do everything possible to provide a home away from home for our troops and to keep them connected to the families they left behind.

USO Arizona is located in Sky Harbor’s Terminal 2, upstairs on the Mezzanine level.

The 2011 Waste Management Phoenix Open was played January 31 – February 7, 2011 at the TPC Scottsdale and was won by PGA TOUR professional Mark Wilson. The tournament host Thunderbirds have raised more than $70 million for charities, with more than $41 million generated since 2004. Title sponsor Waste Management, Inc., based in Houston, Texas, is the leading provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services. It is also a leading developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. The company’s customers include residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers throughout North America. For more information on Waste Management visit wm.com or thinkgreen.com.

For more information on the Waste Management Phoenix Open, visit wmphoenixopen.com.