WHEREAS, Chi Chi Rodriquez was born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico on October 23, 1935, and as a young boy helped his father work the hot, dusty sugar cane fields; and

WHEREAS, Chi Chi Rodriquez began caddying at the age of six and actually learned how to play golf with clubs fashioned out of guava tree limbs and tin cans hammered into balls; and

WHEREAS, Chi Chi Rodriquez joined the Army in 1954 and became a golf professional in 1960 and immediately became one of the most successful and widely recognized individuals in the game of golf for both his 8 PGA Tour Wins, 22 Senior Tour +Wins and for his famous sword dance when he “holes a putt”; and

WHEREAS, the mission of the Chi Chi Rodriquez Youth Foundation is to assist at risk children by improving their self-esteem, character, work ethic, social adjustment, and academic performance using the golf course as a living classroom; and

WHEREAS, the Chi Chi Rodriquez Youth Foundation’s programs now serve more than 1,000 children a year who may not have had a previous positive classroom experiences by fostering a desire in “Chi Chi's Kids” to succeed in school and in life; and

WHEREAS, Chi Chi Rodriquez has consistently performed without compromise and in accordance with the best interest in mind for “Chi Chi’s Kids”;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JIM GIBBONS, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, do hereby proclaim November 15, 2009 as a day in honor of