MENLO PARK, California – October 29, 2002 – Peter Ryan, Ph.D, director of SRI International’s Center for Organizational Development and Training, has received an inaugural “Founders’ Award” from The First Tee, a World Golf Foundation initiative. The First Tee is dedicated to providing affordable golf access for youths who otherwise might not have an opportunity to play the game. In 2002, The First Tee reached approximately 100,000 youths.

Ryan received the award at The First Tee’s Fifth Annual Meeting in St. Augustine, Florida on October 25, 2002.

Ryan led the SRI team that partnered with major golf associations, golf professionals, and life skills subject matter experts to develop The First Tee’s Life Skills curriculum over a three-year period. The curriculum differentiates The First Tee from many other junior golf programs in that participants are taught “life lessons” such as the importance of maintaining a positive attitude, how to make decisions by thinking about the possible consequences, how to define and set goals, and how to transfer values such as responsibility, honesty, and respect from the golf course to everyday life. The lessons are taught through a variety of golf-related exercises designed with the primary goal of having fun.

“Through the extraordinary contributions of our outstanding Founders’ Award-winners, The First Tee has been able to impact the lives of young people in a meaningful way,” said Joe Louis Barrow, Jr., the organization’s senior vice president and executive director. “As we celebrate our fifth anniversary, it is important we pause to recognize those who have helped us to grow and flourish.”

SRI is also working for the World Golf Foundation’s Golf 20/20 initiative to determine the scope of the golf economy – the first-of-its-kind assessment of this multi-billion-dollar market. Findings will be announced at the Golf 20/20 Annual Conference, November 14-16, 2002 in St. Augustine, Florida.

About The First Tee
Celebrating its fifth year of operation, The First Tee currently has 98 golf-learning facilities across North America that are dedicated to impacting the lives of young people. The First Tee golf-learning facilities are youth development and learning centers that serve a charitable purpose and are funded on a charitable basis. The World Golf Foundation, which is supported by all of the major international golf organizations and professional tours, oversees the World Golf Hall of Fame and other nonprofit components of World Golf Village near St. Augustine, Florida.

About SRI International
Silicon Valley-based SRI International is one of the world's leading independent research and technology development organizations. Founded as Stanford Research Institute in 1946, SRI has been meeting the strategic needs of clients for more than 55 years. The nonprofit research institute performs contract research and development for government agencies, commercial businesses and private foundations. In addition to conducting contract R&D, SRI licenses its technologies, forms strategic partnerships and creates spin-off companies.

SRI’s Center for Organizational Development and Training, part of the institute’s Policy Division, works with businesses, associations, and public agencies to design, implement, and evaluate learning initiatives that boost human and organizational performance. The group also helps design and implement learning programs and products aimed at informing and educating customers, partners, and other external constituencies.