Rutherford County Sheriff's Office deputies are still hunting for four-person golf teams to fill out the field for their 6th annual charity golf tournament, set for September 19 at Cedar Crest Golf Course on Mona Road in Murfreesboro. The event mixes golf, lunch, and a live auction, with proceeds earmarked for special-needs children in Rutherford County Schools and a college scholarship program for graduating seniors.
According to a Rutherford County Sheriff's Office post on Facebook, the day is organized by the agency's School Resource Officer Division and includes two shotgun starts — one at 7:30 am with registration beginning at 6:45 am, and an afternoon flight teeing off at 1:30 pm following registration at 12:45 pm. Lunch and a silent auction begin at 11:30 am, and the live auction wraps up at 1:30 pm. A four-member team costs $500 to enter, and the tournament offers first- and second-place prizes for each start, along with longest-drive and closest-to-the-pin contests. Teams or sponsors interested in reserving a spot can reach Sgt. Dustin Cox at [email protected] or 615-995-8919, and registration and sponsor forms are posted in the comments of the sheriff's office announcement.
Money Goes Straight to Local Kids
The tournament's proceeds support the annual SRO Special Needs Fun Fair, which serves local children and families across the county. That event isn't hypothetical charity — this past March, roughly 1,100 special education students, teachers, and aides from Rutherford County Schools attended the Fun Fair at the Lane Agri-Park venue in Murfreesboro, according to the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office. The field day offers free, accessible activities including a petting zoo, arcade games, inflatables, magic shows, and interactive visits with local EMS, police, and fire rescue personnel, giving families a full day built around inclusion.
Beyond the Fun Fair, tournament profits also fund $1,000 higher-education scholarships awarded to graduating high school seniors across the district, a benefit first detailed by Main Street Media of Tennessee. Local businesses have historically been able to buy into the cause without fielding a full team — sponsorship options have ranged from $125 hole sponsorships with on-course signage up to $1,000 corporate packages that include radio advertising blasts and player mulligans, the outlet's reporting notes.
A Tournament With a Growing Track Record
This isn't a new effort. The 4th annual tournament, held in October 2024, drew 33 four-person teams to Champions Run Golf Course in Rockvale before the event moved to its current home at Cedar Crest. That 18-hole public course, designed by J.F. Golf Enterprises, opened in 1999 and regularly hosts municipal and local school golf competitions, per GolfLink. The nonprofit Rutherford County Sheriff's Citizens Academy Alumni Association, founded in 1997 to support agency outreach, processes registration fees and sponsorship donations for the tournament, bridging law enforcement operations with private community dollars.
Hoodline previously reported that the same alumni association has branched into other fundraising efforts, revved up a new car show in August to support similar scholarship goals.
Deep Roots in Rutherford County Schools
The School Resource Officer Division organizing the tournament traces back three decades. Rutherford County Sheriff's Office created Tennessee's first SRO program with just five officers, and that force has since grown to 79 SROs covering public school campuses across the district as of this past February, according to Rutherford County Schools. Beyond fundraising, those officers work inside schools year-round as law enforcement, mentors, and safety instructors teaching drug prevention and anti-bullying curricula, WGNS Radio has reported.
The tournament also comes amid broader change at the agency. Sheriff Kenneth Barrett announced a leadership restructuring on September 1, promoting and assigning new captains across key operational divisions, the sheriff's office said on Facebook. Whether that shakeup affects the SRO division's day-to-day operations wasn't addressed in the announcement.
