Officials from the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation announced that after a six-year hiatus, the Celebrity Walk of Fame is returning to downtown Greenville.
“We’ve received questions about the Walk of Fame consistently since we last held the event in 2007, and we’re so excited to finally bring this unique event back to downtown Greenville, ” said Darin MacDonald, executive director of South Carolina Charities, Inc., the non-profit that manages the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation. “We have to thank Piedmont Natural Gas for serving as the event’s presenting sponsor and helping to make it happen again this year.”
“Piedmont Natural Gas is thrilled to help bring back an event that shines the spotlight on the great city of Greenville,” said Michael Durham, community relations manager for Piedmont Natural Gas. “The Walk of Fame adds another level of excitement to this year’s tournament, which does so much to help a number of wonderful organizations in our community. Piedmont is proud to be a part of that.”
The red carpet event, during which the tournament’s celebrities greet fans, take photos and participate in media interviews, will take place Thursday, May 15, from 6:45-7:45 p.m. on Main Street in front of the Courtyard Greenville Downtown. Actor and comedian Gary Valentine will emcee the event, which is free to the public.
Walk of Fame emcee Gary Valentine is best known for his nine seasons as “Cousin Danny” on the hit CBS sitcom, “The King of Queens.” Currently, he makes regular appearances as a round-table comedian on the popular E! Network late-night talk show “Chelsea Lately” and can be seen in the FX show “Fargo,” which premieres in April 2014. Elsewhere on the small screen, Valentine notably appeared on the television show “Men of a Certain Age,” which was written and directed by Ray Romano and met with critical acclaim. On the big screen, Valentine’s most recent project, “Paul Bart: Mall Cop 2,” will be released in 2015.
“I’m very excited to be part of one of the unique events going on in Greenville. It’s a vibrant city with a happening downtown. And since golf and comedy are two of my favorite things, I really look forward to entertaining people on and off the golf course every year,” said Valentine.
Since 2001 more than 109 celebrities have participated in the tournament including Kurt Russell, Wayne Gretzky, Catherine Bell, Kevin Costner and Dennis Quaid. The 2014 celebrity list will be announced on April 8 at the tournament’s Media Day presented by OOBE.
The 2014 BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation will take place May 15-18 at Thornblade Club, The Reserve at Lake Keowee and, new for 2014, Green Valley Country Club.