By Jondi Gumz
In 1979, Paul Bailey, who graduated from Aptos High in 1970, looked at the sports facilities of his alma mater, which were not complete, and made a suggestion for a golf tournament fundraiser.
“Why don’t we do one for the high school?” he proposed.
That’s how the Aptos Sports Foundation started.
“I saw a need to be the connection between alumni, the business community, the high school and the Aptos community,” said Bailey, co-owner with his brother Robert of Bailey Properties in Aptos.
The nonprofit Paul Bailey started at age 27 is going strong 42 years later.
He’s still the chairman, passionate about doing something “for our kids.”
Bailey Properties provides administrative staffing, which keeps expenses low.
Sold Out
This year, the tournament returned to Seascape Golf Club after a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the date changed to October.
It sold out — a full field of 148 golfers.
A lot of people came because this year’s tournament was dedicated to the late Mark Holcomb, who developed Seascape Beach Resort and numerous residential projects in Aptos.
He had played in every one of the Aptos Sports Foundation’s golf tournaments.
“He had always supported us,” Bailey said, recalling how the foundation “graduated” him from Aptos High and gave him a letterman’s jacket.
Holcomb died Nov. 16, 2020.
With worries about the coronavirus spreading, a traditional memorial was out of the question.
So people showed their respect in a safe venue outdoors and at the dinner indoors, paid tribute with a minute of silence.
The event started at 12:30 p.m., and everyone finished before dark.
Aptos High School athletes helped out running contests such as “closest to the pin.” In the “gorilla drive” contest, student athletes hit the drives for the players. For non-golfers, there was a corn hole competition.
“It was almost like a reunion out there,” Bailey said.
Student athletes served food to 170 guests at the dinner, which included an auction and raffle.
Watsonville Coast Produce, founded in 1937 and run by Gary Manfre, provided fresh veggies. Another supporter is Deluxe Foods of Aptos, owned by Marc Monte.
The auction raised over $10,000, and the tournament netted $45,000 for athletic facilities at Aptos High School.
Aptos Loves Aptos
Marion Proffitt, a real estate agent with Bailey Properties who came here from Chino Valley to be closer to her grandchildren, explains it: “As Paul says, Aptos loves Aptos.”
Aptos has about 6,600 residents. It’s an unincorporated area with neighborhoods, shopping centers and beaches in Santa Cruz County — not a city, so while a county supervisor represents Aptos and adjoining areas, there is no mayor.
Aptos High School is the place that can bring everyone together to focus on the students, the next generation.
Under Bailey’s leadership, the Aptos Sports Foundation built the football facility, the baseball park, installed the marquee at the school’s entrance, put up scoreboards, resurfaced tennis courts and resurfaced the track twice.
Travis Fox, Aptos High athletic director, came here from Colorado and found the support in Aptos “truly amazing” – a level of support he hadn’t seen elsewhere in his 12 years working in education.
Because California’s funding falls short of what’s needed, many high school teams are supported by parents of children on the team donating money.
Not so at Aptos High.
Close to 700 Athletes
There’s no charge to play athletics here,” Fox said, noting the school fields 26 teams, with close to 700 of the 1,415 students involved in athletics.
Expenses add up with officiating (which the district funds 60%) and League fees totaling $17,000.
For football and basketball, fans pay admission, but there’s no charge to watch water polo.
“We break even,” Fox said. “There’s not a whole lot extra.”
The foundation’s next project is to build Holcomb’s Landing, installing concrete steps for student seating near the snack shack, replacing an area that in rainy weather gets quite muddy.
The foundation has a declaration of support and collaboration from the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, which has approved the project, and permits from the Division of the State Architect.
Because it’s a private project, the foundation will select the contractors. Bailey expects to seek donations of rebar to further lower the cost.
On the to-do list: New batting cages.
Bailey has a big idea in mind: Building an endowment fund over the next five to 10 years.
“We’re building future citizens,” he said. “Aptos Loves Aptos.”
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To learn more, visit www.aptossportsfoundation.com/