I am excited to announce that by June 10th, all five of the chapters that make up the PNWPGA will be operational! This has been no small feat and I cannot thank our staff and board enough for their tireless work to make this happen. I think it is safe to say that we can finally see a light at the end of this tunnel.
I recently had the opportunity to play in my first chapter pro-am of 2020 at Pronghorn Resort in Bend, Oregon. Kudos to Dominic Marconi and the entire OPGA Chapter Board for creating a safe environment for us to play. The weather was perfect, the field was full, and it was nice to see my chipping yips have not been affected by my absence from semi-competitive golf.
Early reports from chapter staff have indicated that we all are itching to play golf. Oregon, Western Montana, Central Washington, Inland Empire and Western Washington all expect full events as our tournament season heats up. Please make sure you find time in your busy schedule to participate in a chapter event. As I’ve stated previously, your participation will help all our chapters regain a healthy status.
The Section’s major event schedule will look quite different this year. I assume you all have been updated on the status of our Oregon and Washington State Opens. Both entries are live, and I hope you will make it a priority to attend at least one if not both of these prestigious events.
Click here to sign up for the Muckleshoot Casino Washington Open at Meridian Valley Country Club in Kent, Washington. Thank you to Greg Manley and the membership at Meridian Valley for working with our Section to host this event in 2020.
Click here to sign up for the Oregon Open at Arrowhead Golf Club in Molalla, Oregon. Thank you to Bryce Fisher and the entire Fisher family for opening their doors to PNW Section Professionals. Arrowhead is a true friend of the PNWPGA.
I invite you to take a moment to think of your peers who have performed exceptionally this season, especially in light of this difficult time. The Special Awards Committee, led by Roger Wallace, has been working hard to streamline the awards nomination process. Special thanks to Jess Roper for developing the new online process and Angela Hinzpeter for assisting the committee in realizing their vision. Click here nomination forms and criteria for each award.
In the Fall of 2020, you will all be voting for the next Secretary of the PNWPGA. Bill Shea, the General Manager of the Cedars at Dungeness and Chris Nowlen, the General Manager at Missoula Country Club, are quality PGA Professionals. Thank you to both for your willingness to serve our association. Please give them your time this summer as they answer questions about why they deserve your vote. The final vote will be tallied at our Fall Meeting in October.
Finally, I want to provide an update to our search for our next Section CEO. The search committee has narrowed down the candidates and we have begun the interview process. We are following our timeline closely, and we will achieve our goal of placing a new CEO in August. This will allow sufficient time for a smooth transition. As expected, the process has been bittersweet. While we knew we would face a difficult task of replacing Jeff Ellison, we have become increasingly confident we will be able to find the next leader of the PNWPGA.
Sean Fredrickson, PGA