To say the charity golf tournaments hosted by Black's Tire Service Inc. have grown over the years is a gross understatement. In 2002, at the first tournament, the tire dealer raised $6,000. In 2017, the company raised $167,690.50. Black's Tire, based in Whiteville, N.C. and owned by Ricky Benton, has raised $1,031,143.50 for the Boys and Girls Homes of North Carolina Inc. since that inaugural golf tournament.
The 2017 tournament was held Sept. 22 at the Long Bay Golf Club in Longs, S.C., and it featured sponsorship support from the tire dealer's suppliers and other community partners.
It also included a 50-cent donation from a little girl who saw a sign in a Black's Tire store advertising the tournament. She asked her mother to take her back home so she could get her money "because the children needed help."
The golf tournament raised $161,010.50, and another $5,000 was raised to fund a college scholarship for a graduating senior of the Thomas Academy, a charter school located on the Boys and Girls Homes campus. The day after the golf tournament, Black's Tire hosted its annual BTS Family Day at the Boys and Girls Homes campus. Children from the organization are invited to attend alongside Black's Tire employees and partners from the company's suppliers. At the Family Day, 10 Black's Tire employees participated in a "pie face" contest to raise additional money for the college scholarship. They raised $1,680.
In 2015 Benton was named Modern Tire Dealer's Tire Dealer of the Year. Black's Tire is tied for No. 24 on the Modern Tire Dealer 100 with 43 stores.
