Twice the winner of the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Rolex Junior, which is an annual event sponsored by Rolex that recognizes players who have established themselves as the world’s premier junior golfers, Jessica Wallace is a young and ambitious golfer from Vancouver, Canada. As she finishes her sophomore year at Pepperdine, Wallace shifts base to the University of Colorado. The news was announced by CU’s golf coach, Anne Kelly, who feels Jessica will be a positive impact for CU’s overall tournament experience.

Ranked as no. 10 on the AJGA Rolex Junior Golf rankings, Jessica started young with the help of the non-profit organization, which has proved to be a prevalent force in Golf. The largest association of its kind, AJGA is responsible for many PGA and LPGA champions, encouraging young talent to grow and develop as professional golfers. With Rolex supporting the various events at AJGA, many a players get financial support to compete in events they otherwise could not have.

A graduate from the Walnut Grove Secondary School, Jessica belongs to a sports family with her brother Darren on the Washington Golf team and her father Darryl, on the soccer team, earlier at Tulsa. Always known as a dedicated student-athlete, Jessica Wallace believes that the University of Colorado has the finest amenities for training, which will in turn make her a better golfer.

Jessica Wallace started as an All-WCC player in her freshman year and graduated to earning the WCC Commissioner’s Honor Roll “silver� honors, in no time at all. Also, twice a winner of the B.C. Junior Girls championship, Wallace has already made her mark with as many as 21 career events and 64 rounds.

With a stroke average of 74.94 in 31 rounds with three rounds in the 60s and six rounds under par, Jessica Wallace has one top-five finish and two top-ten finishes, all adding up to her standards of excellence. Jessica would become the sixth player in the history of the University of Colorado from Canada who has played junior golf in Canada with graduates including Dominique Pytlewski and Julie Kim in the Vancouver area. Finishing 21st at the NCAA championships in her sophomore year, Wallace has been ranked the No. 77 player in the country by Golf Week.

Replacing the three departing seniors, Jessica joins the University of Colorado with three more high-school athletes from California, for the session of 2010-2011. With high hopes and expectations, the group plans to keep up with the CU golf history in stroke average.

One of the most successful professional racers, Mark Wilkins, will be seen sharing the steering wheel of the No. 61 AIM Autosport Ford Riley with Burt Frisselle during the 2010 Rolex Daytona Prototype Series. This will be the fourth Rolex Daytona series of his career. The racer will also be rejoining Michael Shank for the Rolex 24 At Daytona while driving the No. 60 Ford Riley, together with team mates John Pew and Ozz Negri. At present, the racer drives the Rolex Daytona Prototype for AIM Autosport.

The Canadian racer has long been associated with Rolex Sports Car Racing as well as with the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The year 2008 witnessed him deliver one of the most breakthrough performances of his career during the Grand Am Rolex Series with his co-driver Burt Frisselle. The duo registered back-to-back top ten finishes between round four to seven followed by being victorious in the ninth round at Barber. While just twenty minutes remained for the championship to end and they were leading, fate intervened, and the engine of their car gave up. This became one of the most memorable final lap defeats in the history of the event.

Before his stint at Grand Am Racing, Mark Wilkins had proved his worth in a number of sports car racing events, including the North American Fran Am 2000 Pro Championship in 2004 where the performer bagged the fourth position. From there, Mark Wilkins made his way into the Star Mazda Series for the next two seasons. In the meantime, the racer also raced in the Grand Am series occasionally.

For many years Rolex has been tirelessly providing its support to the field of sports and especially sports car
racing. The main onus of several of its racing initiatives has been to provide a global platform to talented racers from across the world where they could display their excellence in their respective fields. Through these racing championships Rolex brings across the pursuit of excellence among the talented league of racers, which is also reflected by the timeless Rolex master pieces. The long list of noted championships sponsored by Rolex includes the likes of the Rolex Sports Car Series and the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

The Rolex Sports Car Series is one of the most awaited series in the world of motor sports. It is organised by the Grand American Road Racing Association.

Rolex 24 at Daytona was earlier known as the 24 Hours of Daytona. As the name suggests, the racing championship features a 24-hour endurance race which is held on an annual basis. The event is held at the Daytona International Speedway located in Daytona Beach, Florida. The racing championship was initiated in the year 1966 as a 12-hour race, which was later extended to 24 hours in the following years due to its increasing popularity. The racing event takes place during January’s last weekend or February’s first weekend on a yearly basis as a part of the Speedweeks. The winners of the championship are rewarded with a timeless model of the Rolex Daytona.

Rolex has announced its new mentors under the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative for the year 2010-2011. The selected masters are all set to start a year of artistic odyssey together with their protégés. An International Philanthropic programme, Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative was initiated in the year 2002 to bring across the best artists from around the world and provide them guidance and support, paving way for them to realize their full potential in their respective disciplines. A year long one-to-one creative guidance with the mentors often goes a long way in shaping a successful and satisfying creative future for the young artists.

The onus of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative is to provide a common platform to art and creativity which seamlessly flows through nations and crosses borders. The programme helps the young budding artists attain the right kind of mentorship from acclaimed maestros and helps them to share, learn and grow. Keeping with the tradition of withstanding the best talents in arts, Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative brings out the best while nurturing the talents in various artistic streams. The initiative also works as a common thread which tends to bring the best of art from all corners of the world and immaculately beads them together.

There are six main disciplines which are showcased under the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative- theatre, dance, visual arts, film, music and literature. For each discipline, mentors are chosen who thereafter select their protégé for the entire year. The protégés stay under continuous nurturing guidance of their mentors who hone them in the best skills of their respective art. The Rolex announces its team of mentors and their protégé every two years when the advisory board of distinguished artists and practitioners come together to suggest the potential masters for the year. This is followed by a collaborated discussion between Rolex officials and the mentors who decide on the talented artists who would become a part of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative.

Each of the chosen protégé is given a grant of $25,000 during the year together with a further amount of $25,000 after the mentoring year gets over for the creation of a new piece of art. Each mentor of the initiative is given an honorarium of $50,000.

One of the Canadian protégés who will be becoming a part of the coveted initiative is Susan Platts who will be mentored by Jessye Norman. She is a gifted singer who has been admired for her various performances in United States and in other countries. In her own words, Susan Platts considers the opportunity of being mentored by one of the most revered masters in the world of music as a dream come true. The Toronto based talented mezzo soprano, Susan Platts is known to connect with the audiences very strongly and many even consider her more of a story teller on stage.  Encouraged by her mentor Jessye Norman, Susan Platts is going to record her very first album which will have her singing solo numbers together with Canadian pianist Rena Sharon.

An Olympic veteran and former Langley resident, Hawley Bennett has bagged the tenth position at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day event 2010. Hawley Bennett rode the talented and swift gelding Gin ‘n’ Juice in the prestigious event which is the sole four star three day event in America and features top riders from across the world. Hawley Bennett is known for her flawless moves on the tracks and has been a part of the 2004 Olympics in Athens. The event which took place in the Kentucky Horse Park saw participation from several top riders from Canada including Diana, Jessica Hampf and Kyle Carter.

Hawley Bennett earned an impressive score of 53.8 in the dressage event. Together with her horse Gin ‘n’ Juice, Hawley Bennett managed to clear the double cross country round without any hindrance of faults or time penalties. With this, the pair became one of the top ten competitors to have reached that level. The stadium section of the grand event saw the duo finishing with four faults and one rail, mounting an overall score of 57.8. This year’s Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event marked a special one for the talented rider as she rode with her prized and most favourite gelding, Gin ‘n’ Juice. Hawley Bennett also bagged the third spot at the CIC*** at Galway Downs and registered their win at the 2009 Boromont International CCI***. The rider is known for her good horsemanship and is one of those few riders who give special

Hawley Bennet calls her gelding Gin ‘n’ Juice by the pet name of Ginny.  Talking about the horse she says that the gelding has been very supportive and together they form a strong bond. Hawley Bennett compares her favourite horse to a sports car packed with swift movements. Before the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, Hawley Bennett was heard as saying that Gin ‘n’ Juice had everything that is required for proving her worth in the dressage event. She goes on to praise the gelding by saying that the horse is not only fast and confident but also knows the tricks to avoid the rail hits during the competitions. Hawley Bennett also added that she has some plans for her career which she sees coming true with the companionship of Gin ‘N’ Juice.

So far, Hawley Bennett has had four chances of representing Canada at the Kentucky Horse Park. She feels proud at being selected for one of the most coveted championships in the field of eventing- the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event. In her own words, she calls riding at Rolex nothing less than a dream. Apart from Gin ‘n’ Juice with whose support Hawley Bennett registered a tenth position in the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, other geldings include- Livingstone, who has been with her for the past 16 years and Allie Slusher who also supported her through several three day events. Hawley Bennett has now set her focus on the World Equestrian Games slated to take place at the Kentucky Horse Park in September 2010.