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Nuxhall Open entering 20th year

Former Bengals kicker Jim Breech and Joe Herold watches as another golfer makes last year during the Joe Nuxhall Scholarship Foundation golf outing at the Hamilton Elks Golf Club in Hamilton.

file photo by Gary Stelzer Former Bengals kicker Jim Breech and Joe Herold watches as another golfer makes last year during the Joe Nuxhall Scholarship Foundation golf outing at the Hamilton Elks Golf Club in Hamilton.

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By Michael D. Pitman, Staff Writer 7:59 PM Sunday, June 7, 2009

The annual Joe Nuxhall golf outing started in the mid-1980s on a chance meeting.

Anheuser-Busch employee Barry Gray happened to be at the same Hamilton Kroger as Joe Nuxhall, said John Dickerson, CEO of Dickerson Distributing, an Anheuser-Busch plant in Monroe. They had known each other through their respective work with the Cincinnati Reds.

“Barry asked Joe if he’d be willing to help out with a golf tournament where the proceeds would go to charity,” Dickerson said. “Joe immediately agreed, with the provision that the funds be used in Butler County.”

The first Joe Nuxhall golf fundraiser was in 1986. Then Dickerson said Nuxhall wanted to start a scholarship. In 1989, the outing was re-branded the Joe Nuxhall Scholarship Open. This year marks its 20th anniversary — all have been at the Elks Golf Club in Liberty Twp. This year it’s June 15.

“His idea was to give one or two scholarships to each of the public and parochial high schools in Butler County,” Dickerson said.

Two decades later, more than $500,000 has been awarded to area high school scholar-athletes with money raised through the golf outing and auction.

Nuxhall valued education, Dickerson said. Nuxhall said at each scholarship luncheon, the only “do-over” he wanted was to earn a college degree.

“He really loves kids and young people, and in his own life he really valued education,” Dickerson said.

Dickerson Distributing employees Mark Fiessinger and Toni Russo had operated the outing and auction, but its growth became too much. Two years ago, the outing’s operations were handed over to the Fairfield Community Foundation — which manages the funds for the Joe Nuxhall Character Education Fund and the Hope Project.

“It was never about him; it was about helping other people,” said son Kim Nuxhall, executive director of the Joe Nuxhall Character Education Fund. “He always looked at his career as a privilege.”

Contact this reporter at  (513) 755-5112 or mpitman@coxohio.com.

How to go

What: Joe Nuxhall Memorial Scholarship Open

When: June 15

Where: The Elks Golf Club, Hamilton

Details: www.nuxhallopen.org

Find more local events online at  Journal-News.com/events

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Kim,

I really miss hearing Joe on radio. He was a real hero to Cincinnati in more ways than just in baseball. Cincinnati is lucky to have been the home of Joe. God Bless!

Tim

Tim
8:35 PM, 6/7/2009

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