Room Nights for the Brave May 19, 2011 By PGA TOUR Staff ATLANTA뾃s the Official Hotel and Resort Partner of the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour, InterContinental Hotels Group the world뭩 largest hotel group by number of rooms, announced that its Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts brand will lead a 밨oom Nights for the Brave?charity campaign to support Birdies for the Brave, a TOUR-supported military outreach initiative developed to assist the brave men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families. Beginning with the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial on May 19 through the AT&T National ending July 3, for every eagle made by a PGA TOUR player, Crowne Plaza will donate a room night to Birdies for the Brave, creating a bank of hotel stays. Rooms will be used to support injured veterans and military personnel participating in Birdies for the Brave activities at TPC Clubs, PGA TOUR and Champions Tour events as well as other unique golf related experiences. In addition to Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, IHG owns a portfolio of well-recognized and respected hotel brands including InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites. The 밨oom Nights for Brave?hotel stays will also be valid at any other IHG family of brand hotel. 밫he brave men and women in our military are separated from their families for extremely long periods of time. We뭨e happy to be working with the PGA TOUR and Birdies for the Brave to reunite our servicemen and women with their loved ones and to provide a place where they can spend quality time together,?said Gina LaBarre, Vice President, Brand Management, the Americas, IHG. 밃s title sponsor of the prestigious Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial since 2007, the Colonial has a 65-year history of charitable giving and we뭨e proud to continue the tradition.? 밄eing able to spend time with family members is one of the things our troops cherish most,?said former Navy SEAL Stephen Kupcha, manager of Birdies for the Brave and all Military Outreach for the PGA TOUR. 밄y creating this program, IHG and Crowne Plaza are providing a great service to our military families, and creating some good-natured competition out on the course to see who can hit the most eagles and earn the most rooms for these deserving men and women.? While the 밨oom Nights for the Brave?campaign did not officially kick off until the first round of play at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, Crowne Plaza hosted a bonus round at the Wide Open Media Golf Day on April 18 and awarded five room nights to the initiative. Additionally, the Saturday of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial is national Armed Forces Day, established in 1949 to honor Americans serving in the military branches, as well as the 150th Anniversary of the Congressional Medal of Honor. The tournament will host and honor six Congressional Medal of Honor recipients and encourage fans to wear yellow ribbons to show support. Also, for each birdie made on the 17th hole during play on Saturday, Colonial and Crowne Plaza will donate $1,000 to the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation. A check-presentation ceremony will be held near the 18th green immediately following the conclusion of play on Saturday. IHG is the Official Hotel and Resort Partner of the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour. The PGA TOUR and IHG began the five-year integrated marketing and business partnership in 2011. In addition to the official marketing relationship, IHG's Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts brand is the title sponsor of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial through 2015. Crowne Plaza has served as title sponsor of the historic event since 2007. Crowne Plaza is known to business travelers as "The Place to Meet" and golf courses have a storied history as informal meeting places, which Crowne Plaza will continue to leverage through its relationship with the PGA TOUR and Colonial Country Club across all IHG brands. READ MORE ABOUT: , Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial , Health/Medical , Military , TPCs