Amanda Balionis pens heartfelt message to dear friend Jon O’Donnel as she celebrates 25 years of a heartwarming cause

Amanda Balionis, a popular figure with over 320,000 Instagram followers, recently took to her Instagram Stories to celebrate a significant milestone. She congratulated Jon O'Donnell and the entire team at Heritage Links, a golf course construction company, on their 25th anniversary, acknowledging their remarkable contribution to the golf industry.

The message posted by Balionis included a photo of herself with O'Donnell under a sign commemorating the milestone. Balionis accompanied the image with the following text:

"Grateful to celebrate @heritage.links 25th anniversary! The best in the business and the heart of our biggest @puppiesandgolf fundraiser all year at @mavericksbeachclub. Thank you Jon O'Donnell and team for your constant support and friendship. cheers to the next 25!"

(Image via Instagram @balionis)

Heritage Links is a division of Lexicon, a company founded over 50 years ago and currently based in Little Rock, Arkansas. Lexicon is in the general construction business and entered the golf course business with Heritage Links.

Jon O'Donnell is the founding President of Heritage Links. According to his LinkedIn profile, he previously served as the general manager of Heritage Golf for a period of nine years.

Balionis' relationship with Heritage Links and Jon O'Donnell is through the Puppies and Golf Foundation, of which she is the founding president. The foundation has held several events during 2024 with the support of the company and its president.

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Amanda Balionis and Puppies and Golf

Puppies and Golf is a non-profit organization that was founded by Amanda Balionis in 2020. The organization has three basic goals, which are defined on its website as follows

• Providing support to shelters and rescues across the country with both awareness and financial grants.
• Providing families in need with emergency grants to cover the cost of unexpected medical or training bills for their dog.
• Providing support to organizations that train service dogs for Military Veterans battling PTSD.

Amanda Balionis told Golf Digest in 2020 that the idea of starting Puppies and Golf struck her during her time at K9 for Veterans, a similar organization based in Florida. At the time, Balionis was working as a host reporter for the PGA Tour.

After accepting the position of a host reporter with Callaway Golf, Balionis had to move to San Diego and she decided to take what she had learned with K9 for Veterans and apply it there. A few months later, Puppies and Golf was born. The initiative started as just a T-shirt production, but has grown into the institution it is today.

According to its official website, Puppies and Golf has raised over $150,000 (in 2023) through its charitable programs. The goal for 2024 is to exceed $500,000.

Balionis currently covers the National Football League (NFL) for CBS Sports. The reporter took over football coverage after the PGA Tour season ended in September.