Stuart grew up locally in the Fayetteville area. He attended graduate school at Tulane University and spent many years working in New Orleans. Stuart was initially introduced to First Tee during his time in Louisiana. The golf club he worked at housed the sectional PGA headquarters for the Gulf States and they were involved with the launch of First Tee – New Orleans. Upon moving back to his hometown in 2009, Stuart was asked to play in First Tee – Sandhills annual tournament, Drive 4 Kids. From there, he became more involved with the organization and later joined the Board of Directors in hopes of aiding in the expansion of First Tee into Fayetteville and the surrounding cities.
“Shortly after I joined the board, I visited a class at Gates Four Golf & CC to see how the kiddos receive the instruction, how passionate our coaches are about their mentorship role, and the smiles that came from both the teachers and kids. This really connected me to what we do, how we do it, and most importantly, why we do it.”