Hello! I hope the start of June finds you all well. This is typically when our facilities are super busy, so I wish you the best and remind you to make time for mental health! My staff and I just completed the 42nd annual Don Barnett Memorial 54-hole Championship. It was a great event even with a bit of rain.
I would like to thank those that were in attendance for the Special Awards Ceremony and the Spring Meeting at the Home Course last week. I found the awards ceremony to be amazing. Hearing from the winners and learning about their accomplishments was inspiring. Each of them shared their passion for the game and their unique niche in the business, which has made them special. It was clear that the best professionals are passionate about their role as a PGA professional and that giving back to the PGA has made their careers more rewarding and successful. Howie Pruitt and Vince Domenzain touched a chord with their connection through their military careers and veteran services. Steve Prugh discussed his passion for mentorship and reminded us all that our score doesn’t define us, our works in our professions do. Derrek Siesser inspired me with his new approach to teaching, and along with Bruce Christy, he has showed us that thinking outside the box is the key to success. I had the pleasure of interviewing Jeff Coston and Howie Pruitt. Both of these gentlemen were multiple award winners. Jeff left me with a lasting impression for a winning mindset. We are all winners, but he looks to cross the finish line first in all he does, and he passes it on as a model educator and professional development leader. Howie demonstrates his commitment to our association in many different areas through voluntary service. It is inspiring. To all of the award winners, thank you for your passion!
The spring meeting was well attended. Our sponsor partners were on hand to give us their continued support. Please make every effort to support them in return when you are making vendor and purchasing decisions. Frank and his team continue to grow our partnerships, improve our services to our members, grow our tournament program, plus much more. Our Section is a national leader in every category. We are excelling in all areas, and we are definitely moving in the right direction. As always, I reminded our membership to fill out the PGA compensation profile, complete your PGA Coach profile, and register for PGA deferred compensation. Your help with these programs helps yourselves and our Section.
One goal we have as a board and staff is to win the Herb Graffis award as the best Section in the Country. We are looking for your help in leading in areas like PGA Junior League, PGA HOPE, and compensation survey completion statistics. I believe we are less than 65 players away from having the most PGA Junior League participants of any PGA section. If you can drive a few more players to your program, we will achieve one of these goals. Let’s work together to cross that finish line in first place.
Thank you to Tanner and Molly for running a special Northwest Open at the Home Course. The course was a true test and in excellent condition. Congratulation to Daniel Campbell on his win!
Have a great month!