More than 500 people participate in inaugural Blackie Wills Golf Classic & Gala; First-ever event supports the Wills Group Community Engagement Programs focused on ending childhood hunger and ensuring safe and healthy homes

The Wills Group, a family-owned company headquartered in La Plata, MD, announced today that it raised more than $500,000 at its inaugural Blackie Wills Golf Classic and Gala, a two-day event that took place at Turf Valley Resort in Ellicott City, Maryland on September 10th and 11th.

This year’s inaugural event supports the Blackie Wills Community Leadership Fund which honors Julian Blacklock “Blackie” Wills, the third President and CEO of the Wills Group, and carries on his commitment to community and civic engagement.
Formed in 2016 in commemoration of the Wills Group’s 90th anniversary, the fund has donated more than $450,000 in the past year to more than 40 charitable organizations across the Mid-Atlantic region to further the company’s community engagement efforts to end childhood hunger, and ensure safe and healthy homes. Organizations supported by the Blackie Wills Community Leadership Fund during the past year include Farming4Hunger, a Southern Maryland nonprofit that provides 26% of the fresh food that goes to the Maryland Food Bank, Jude House, an organization that provides housing and treatment for men and women in recovery, and Lifestyles of Maryland, a Southern Maryland nonprofit that serves approximately 14,000 individuals by providing emergency assistance, transportation, housing and job training.

“The level of support we received for this year’s Blackie Wills Golf Classic & Gala is remarkable,” said Lock Wills, Chairman, CEO and President of the Wills Group. “We thank our sponsors and everyone who contributed to the success of this inaugural event. Their commitment is to be applauded and will result in an important source of funding for worthy charitable organizations across the communities we serve.”

Sponsors of the Blackie Wills Golf Classic and Gala include Platinum Level Sponsors –Bohler Engineering, Motiva Enterprises LLC, PNC, CWPS, UST Services Corporation, Ruppert Landscape, Petro Supply, Inc., Hopkins & Wayson General Contractors, S&D Coffee & Tea, Petroleum Management, Inc.; and, Gold Level Sponsors – Jones & Frank, Core-Mark, Shell Global, Samuel Coraluzzo Co., Washington Gas, Petroleum Site Works, Bunzl Distribution USA, Inc., Matrix Capital Markets Group, Gilbarco Veeder-Root, R.E. Michel Company LLC, Car Wash Solutions, Able Applied Technologies USA LLC, Brown Advisory and Fabric Branding, Inc.

Other contributors include CBS Baltimore, CITGO, Crown Trophy, Dash In Food Stores, Inc., Denison, ESPN980, Fidelity Engineering, Jonathan Ogden Foundation, Kohler, Lennox, SMO Energy, TEC Graphics, The Colley Gallery, Toasted Foot Cigar Lounger, Turf Valley Resort and Wayne Signs.

The Blackie Wills Community Leadership Fund is a component of the Wills Group’s community engagement efforts which are focused on helping to eliminate childhood hunger, support safe and healthy homes, and create opportunities for education and economic growth. Since 2006, the Wills Group has donated more than $1.9 million to communities across Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

About the Wills Group, Inc.
Headquartered in La Plata, Maryland, the Wills Group has nearly 300 retail locations across the Mid-Atlantic region, including Dash In, Splash In ECO Car Wash, and SMO Motor Fuels. A family-owned company since 1926 with expertise in convenience retailing, fuels marketing, and commercial real estate, the Wills Group prides itself on keeping customers’, employees’, and communities’ Lives in Motion.

About the Blackie Wills Community Leadership Fund
The Blackie Wills Community Leadership Fund was created in remembrance of the Wills Group President Julian Blacklock “Blackie” Wills and his commitment to giving back to local communities. Carrying on this tradition at the Wills Group, the Blackie Wills Community Leadership Fund actively reinvests in the community in order to help ensure that everyone has the opportunity to get their basic needs met and create a better future for themselves and their children. The Blackie Wills Community Leadership Fund (BWCLF) is a component fund within Chesapeake Charities, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. The Chesapeake Charities financial statement is available on their website, www.chesapeakecharities.org, at their office located at 101 Log Canoe Circle, Suite 0, Stevensville, MD 21666, or through the Secretary of State, Charitable Division, State House, Annapolis, MD 21401.

Recent stories