A small group of longtime coworkers has banded together to support one of their own in a major charitable endeavor that they hope will eventually benefit all of Henry County and the surrounding region.

  Kenny Kirby is a 23-year employee at Delta Air Lines. He is known to many as the father of Kensley Grace Kirby, who passed away in 2011 at five years of age and whose namesake, the Kensley Grace Foundation, is working toward the goal of building an aquatic center in Henry County.

  The latest event organized in support of this organization is the Kensley Grace Aquatic Golf Tournament, scheduled for Monday, Aug. 5, at Eagle’s Landing Country Club. It is the brainchild of a few of Kirby’s associates at Delta who have been looking for the right opportunity to get involved in a major way.

  “I’ve known about [the foundation] but I’ve stood in the background and not really been involved until about three months ago,” said Buddy Ivey, who has known Kirby since the latter arrived at Delta and who has worked side by side with him for years. “He’s just a good friend.”

  Ivey lives in Henry County, as does retired Delta employee Mike West. The two are on a committee that puts on Delta’s corporate golf tournament every September in Orlando. Ivey said it is the largest tournament of its kind in the nation.

  They were approached by Thomas Muthoka, who had been trying to get the Kensley Grace Foundation on the radar of other people at the airline. “He took it upon himself to see if he could push this thing up through the Delta ranks,” said Kirby.

  Another friend from Delta, Eric Gosser, also has experience putting on corporate golf tournaments.

  “We’ve all known Kenny through the years, and we are all involved in golf,” said Ivey, adding that a vice president in the tech ops division, where they all work, encouraged them to organize something locally to show their support.

  So the upcoming tournament at Eagle’s Landing was born. Delta is not the host of the event, but is a sponsor like Piedmont Henry and some other businesses. It’s the grassroots work of these men and some other people that is making it happen.

  “A lot of Delta employees live in Henry County,” said Kirby. “We all want to do good things for our community.”

  No one knows how many Delta employees live in the county, and if the airline knows it is not saying. But it is not a great leap to assume that the number is a few thousand.

  The organizers of the golf tournament have set a goal of raising $100,000. The day will include lunch, dinner, a silent auction and various contests in addition to the regular golf tournament.

  Ivey has also owned All-Star Trophies in McDonough for 18 years, and he has been devoting a great deal of time to soliciting support from other small businesses in the county “to help build this facility and make the Kirbys’ dream come true.”

  The foundation itself is still in the process of a capital fundraising campaign, knowing that a lot of help from a variety of sources will be needed to make the dream of an aquatic center become a reality.

  The Kensley Grace Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, meaning that all donations are tax-deductible. Henry County’s government donated land for the facility, on the Henry Parkway Connector near Mercer University’s McDonough campus. The foundation is continuing to work on getting the county government, the Board of Education and all four cities to step up financially, which would improve the chances of large corporations getting more involved.

  “We are trying to keep the grassroots efforts going in the county,” said Kirby.

  Registration for the golf tournament is available online at https://birdeasepro.com/11299/ but, as Ivey was quick to point out, that web page also has links that allow supporters to make donations even if they aren’t interested in playing golf.

  According to the website, registration starts at 10 a.m. along with the auction. There is a putting contest and a long drive contest at that time, and lunch is set for 11. The tournament starts at noon and there will be a dinner/awards presentation at 6 p.m.

  There are various entry opportunities in the closest-to-hole, long drive and putting contests as well as individual and team entry levels for golf tournament. Sponsorships range from $250 for a hole sign to $5,000 for a platinum medal sponsor.

  The foundation’s website is found at www.kensleygrace.com and friends and potential supporters are encouraged to stay connected by signing up for its online mailing list. There is also a “Kensley Grace Aquatic Center” page on Facebook.