Josh Swindle Has Been Chosen To Represent The Carolinas In PGA HOPE National Golf & Wellness Week
(Greensboro, NC) – PGA HOPE will be hosting their first annual PGA HOPE National Golf & Wellness Week October 25-28, 2019 at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland. This event is designed to be a unique opportunity for PGA HOPE graduates as they learn new sets of skills focused on advanced golf instruction and impactful wellness training. Each PGA section will choose a veteran as their representative in said event.
Carolinas PGA REACH has chosen Josh Swindle as the veteran to represent the Carolinas Section in the PGA HOPE National Golf & Wellness Week. Swindle is a retired Private First Class for the Army National Guard where he served from 1999 to 2002. He became paralyzed from the waist down after responding to a fire near his home. He developed depression and PTSD as the reality of being paralyzed set in. In addition, he became addicted to opioids at that time and decided to get sober after watching his friends succumb to drug overdoses. He was able to maintain his sobriety but was depressed due to the lack of social life. It was Perry Green that was able to provide for him a paramobile where he was able to hit golf balls and find a new purpose in life.
Swindle adds: “When I am upright, for that brief moment in time, I feel normal.” Like many in the PGA HOPE program, he has traded nightmares and flashbacks for golf dreams and friendships.
About PGA REACH Carolinas
The PGA REACH Carolinas Foundation is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization and philanthropic arm of the Carolinas PGA Section, the largest of the 41 sections in the United States of America. Our 2,000 members across North and South Carolina are committed to serving our communities and growing the game of golf through our three pillars- Youth, Military, and Diversity & Inclusion. For more information, please visit carolinas.pga.com/foundation/. You can also find PGA REACH Carolinas on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @REACHCarolinas.
About PGA HOPE
PGA HOPE Carolinas (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere) is an adaptive golf program offered by our PGA Professionals as a rehabilitation tool to improve our veterans’ quality of life by enhancing their mental, social, physical, and emotional well-being. There is NO COST to our veterans. With your support, we serve our veterans at eleven locations in North and South Carolina with an emphasis on helping those with physical and emotional disabilities that would most benefit from our initiative.