Donna Gregory’s Extraordinary People: Brittany Zachrich uses golf to help local kids grow

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Brittany Zachrich’s relationship with golf began almost by accident.

She was 11 years old and growing up in southeastern Kentucky when a neighbor’s older brother took her and a friend to Hazard Country Club. No one in Zachrich’s family really played golf at the time, but she said she loved the game almost immediately.

“I look back at all the connections and friendships that I’ve made, and the opportunities that it’s given me, from a junior golf standpoint to collegiate to now it’s, it’s my career,” Zachrich said.

That career eventually brought her to First Tee of Greater Wilmington, a youth development organization that uses golf to teach character and life skills.

Zachrich, a PGA professional, first became involved with the organization as a volunteer. She later became its outreach director before taking over as executive director in 2020.

But as her involvement grew, Zachrich said golf itself became less important than what could be taught through the game.

“Golf kinda became the least important part of it, and the youth development piece has taken the forefront,” she said.

First Tee works with children beginning at age 5, incorporating lessons about integrity, honesty, respect and other life skills into golf instruction. Zachrich said the individual nature of the sport provides opportunities for children to learn lessons such as doing the right thing even when no one is watching.

Program Director Dana Schoenbach, who has worked with Zachrich for more than four years, credits her with helping shape the organization.

“Anybody that interacts with our program gets the value of it, the character development, the life skills, as well as the game of golf,” Schoenbach said. “And without her spearheading that, it wouldn’t be possible.”

For families involved with First Tee, Zachrich’s impact can also be much more personal.

Prescott Weaver has participated in First Tee since he was 5 years old. His mother, Allie Reback, said Zachrich has made herself available to work individually with young golfers despite the demands of running the organization.

“Not every golf pro is accessible, right?” Reback said. “And so for her to not only give her time here, but on top of all the stuff that she’s doing, to be able to meet with kids one-on-one to make sure that they love the game, too, is awesome.”

Prescott said Zachrich helped him improve his short game and taught him how to get out of bunkers.

“It made a big difference when I started listening and getting better,” he said.

His father, James Weaver, said he has watched interest in the program grow during the roughly five years his family has been involved.

“I’ve noticed as a parent, just the amount of people who are excited to come out here and play has grown tremendously,” Weaver said. “I think Brittany’s done a good job in bringing that framework and organization from top down.”

Zachrich said First Tee of Greater Wilmington was reaching about 120 children a year when she started. This year, she expects close to 700 children to participate in its after-school programming alone. The organization also works with 25 community partners and provides programming and equipment to physical education classes at 32 elementary schools.

The growth has also created a new challenge: Demand is greater than the organization can currently accommodate.

Zachrich said her vision for First Tee’s next decade includes expanding its staff and eventually having its own learning center capable of serving more children.

“I wanna grow our staff so we can not have wait lists anymore for our programs,” Zachrich said. “I want as many kids and families that wanna be a part of this organization to have that opportunity.”

For Zachrich, it means giving more children access to the kind of opportunity golf first gave her at 11 years old.

And that’s what makes Brittany Zachrich Donna Gregory’s Extraordinary Person of the Month.

Learn more about First Tee of Greater Wilmington here.

You can nominate someone for Donna Gregory’s Extraordinary People here. All honorees get a year of free car washes from Tommy’s Express Car Wash.

This segment honors Donna Gregory, a beloved WWAY anchor who died in 2024 after a battle with lung cancer.

View more Extraordinary People stories here.