Geraldo Rivera Golf Classic To Honor Nassau Residents

The Geraldo Rivera Golf & Tennis Classic is returning to Nassau County this spring, and this year it is honoring Hewlett Harbor resident Tariq Khan, one of the members of the board of directors for Life's WORC?The Family Center For Autism.

Life’s WORC/The Family Center For Autism was established fifty years ago by newspaper publisher Victoria Schneps with help from broadcast journalist icon Geraldo Rivera (who launched this fundraiser tournament 30 years ago). The Garden City-based non-profit agency provides a variety of services to some 2,000 people with developmental disabilities and autism. It is an employer of more than 1,200, with a presence in Suffolk, Nassau, Queens, and Manhattan.

Khan arrived from Pakistan as an immigrant with $300 in his pocket. Since then, he has earned prominence as a community leader on Long Island and respect among his peers in business. For many years, Khan developed enterprises in the Long Island/New York City region in grocery and convenience stores. He still maintains a business presence owning and operating several Long Island convenience stores and gas stations. Khan is also engaged in regional commercial real estate and property management. He is active in a number of trade, industry and business organizations as an advocate for economic development. In 2003, he was honored by the New York City Council as one of the city's most outstanding Pakistani-American citizens.

For the Golf Classic, Kahn reached out to his neighbor and golfing buddy, Barry Koff of Long Beach, to also be a guest of honor. Koff is known on Long Island for his ownership of grocery enterprises, and in real estate. He regularly plays in competitive senior amateur golf tournaments. “Barry Koff and I have played together in this Geraldo Rivera tournament the past five years," Kahn said. "Whenever we play together, we enjoy our game and some laughs. So undertaking the May 24 event will give Barry and I great pleasure while bringing some value and benefit to Life’s WORC/The Family Center For Autism.”

Tickets to the Geraldo Rivera Golf & Tennis Classic, which is set for May 24 at the Seawane Country Club in Hewlett Harbor, are still available, and are $550 per golfer and $2,000 per foursome. You can get tickets by calling 516-741-9000 ext. 15000.

Photo: Courtesy Danny Frank