The 11th annual Legends Reno-Tahoe Open is set to kick off in early August, and Legends is thrilled with its relationship in it second year as a partner sponsor with the PGA Tour.

A little more than a year ago, The Legends committed to a two-year sponsorship with the PGA to be the title sponsor of the Reno-Tahoe Open.

“What we need to do is we need to find the best way to introduce ourselves to the population in whatever market we come into,” said Dennis McGovern, the General Manager of Legends at Sparks Marina. “We don’t always have the availability of a PGA tournament ... We simply looked at it as a marketing tool. We decided that it made a lot of sense to partner with the Reno-Tahoe open for a minimum of two years to create the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open.”

McGovern said that the Legends development company, Red Development, is well known around Kansas and Arizona and its leaders want to spread the company name around Nevada as well.

The partnership allows not only for Legends to get its name out there, but the community benefits as well.

“It’s nice when you’re able to fulfill your marketing needs and give back to the community in a time of need,” McGovern said. “It turned out to be an extra bonus for us. We knew there was a contribution or a gift giving that went back to the community, but when we signed up, we didn’t know what the economic times would be.

“Last year, we really introduced the name Legends to the market. Unless you were at the golf tourney you didn’t necessarily get the opportunity to see what we are and who we are.”

McGovern believes that with the benefit of the Legends at Sparks Marina being open as of last month, it will be able to get its name out so people know what Legends is and what if offers.

“We’ll do a much better job up at the Open to send the message of who we are and what you can expect when you’re there,” he said.

While sponsors are necessary for the event, so are volunteers. The LRTO is in need of volunteers to make sure the event runs smoothly.

“The volunteers are the life blood of the tournament,” Tournament Director Michael Stearns said. “Without them, we couldn’t contribute money to charity.”

Stearns said that in the past the event has used about 400 volunteers but this year it is looking for more than 700.

“It takes a great number of volunteers to run a PGA Tour event and we’re reaching out into the community and hoping that we can get a few more to step up to join in presenting the Reno-Tahoe community to a global audience via the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open,” he said.

There are many different positions for the volunteers to participate in.

“We’re looking for anybody who is a big golf fan, who loves to see the PGA Tour players showcase their skills,” Stearns said.

Volunteers can work in the media tent, work on ticket sales, player hospitality, be walking scorers and more.

So far, the RTO has volunteers from 16 different states set up to help.

Legends and the Reno-Tahoe Open have combined to make the working partnership as beneficial for the community as they can.

“You buy the right to have your name associated with the event,” McGovern said. “We couldn’t be happier with the partnership that’s been created. We’ve certainly gotten to know a lot of people. There are so many intangibles that go with the partnership ... I can’t say enough of how great the Reno-Tahoe Open folks have been to work with.”

With the proceeds from the Open, it is able to help many local charities. Stearns said the Open works with Big Brothers Big Sisters, First Tee, Boys and Girls club, YMCA of the Sierras, Washoe County Education Fund, Montreux Cares and the Food Bank of Northern Nevada.

Stearns said that throughout the year, the Open was able to raise about $100,000 for charity.

For more information on this year’s Legends at Sparks Marina Reno-Tahoe Open, including ticket sales, volunteering and sponsorship opportunities, visit

www.LegendsRenoTahoe

Open.com or contact the tournament office at 775-322-3900.