Jim Richerson, PGA Golf Professional of the Year

Transcription

1 Wisconsin PGA Announces 2016 Special Award Winners The Wisconsin Section, PGA is pleased to announce our 2016 WPGA Special Award winners. These awards recognize the extraordinary accomplishments of our Wisconsin PGA Professionals on and off the course. Award winners will be honored at a reception on Monday, February 29 th at Blackwolf Run in Kohler, WI. This reception is part of the Wisconsin PGA Spring Meeting and Product Showcase. Below is a list of the winners followed by a detailed write-up about each winner. WPGA Golf Professional of the Year Jim Richerson, PGA Blackwolf Run/Whistling Straits Teacher of the Year Chuck Wood, PGA Oconomowoc GC Assistant Golf Professional of the Year James Anderson, PGA Westmoor CC Horton Smith Award Rich Tock, PGA Erin Hills Youth Player Development Award Nick Byom, PGA The Legend Clubs Player Development Award Lucas Hana, Green Bay CC Bill Strausbaugh Award Bill Graham, PGA Chenequa CC Merchandiser of the Year (Private) Bill Graham, PGA Chenequa CC Merchandiser of the Year (Public) Andrew Barrett, PGA Brown Deer Park GC Merchandiser of the Year (Resort) Josue Reyes, PGA Blackwolf Run/Whistling Straits Press Contact: Chris Hoel choel@pgahq.com (414) Jim Richerson, PGA Golf Professional of the Year The highlight of golf in Wisconsin last season was without a doubt the 2015 PGA Championship. Great golf, Jason Day as champion, record attendance and record sales highlighted the week. With that, the Wisconsin PGA looked no further than the General Manager and Group Director of Golf for the Kohler Company and PGA Professional, Jim Richerson for its 2016 Golf Professional of the Year. Richerson was a key part of the executive committee for the 2015 PGA Championship. He was responsible for ensuring that the event was conducted in a world class fashion in all aspects. With his coordination the event involved over 46 different committees, more than 3,400 volunteers and an additional 1,000 plus temporary employees. The state of Wisconsin reports that the economic impact of the PGA Championship for the state was in excess of $100 million dollars. In addition to his role at the PGA Championship, Richerson was also an active participant in the 2015 Open Championship at St. Andrew s where the Duke s course was used by participants for practice and play, and the Old Course Hotel was the host hotel for players and officials. Furthermore he recently concluded a three year term on the Board of Directors of the PGA of America as the District Six Director. During his time on the board, Pete Bevacqua was named CEO, PGA Junior League and Drive, Chip & Putt became national success stories, a new TV contract was negotiated and signed for the Ryder Cup and PGA, and Suzy Whaley became the first female to become an officer of the PGA of America. The Wisconsin PGA voted Richerson in as Secretary of their Board of Directors in 2015 as well. He succeeded Brian Baus who moved up to Vice President. In the fall of 2015, he declared his candidacy for Secretary of the PGA of America and began his campaign. Richerson is currently the chair of the PGA of America s Properties Committee and a member of both the Finance and Budget Committees. I m very honored and humbled to be thought of by my peers for this award. As well, I m very fortunate to work with such a great group of PGA Professionals and staff members at Whistling Straits & Blackwolf Run. The WPGA has some of the most outstanding golf professionals in the country and to be honored in this fashion is truly special, said Richerson. Richerson was also the 2013 WPGA Golf Professional of the Year, a past Horton Smith and a Bill Strausbaugh Award winner for the Wisconsin PGA.

2 Chuck Wood, PGA Teacher of the Year Chuck Wood, PGA has been named the 2016 WPGA Teacher of the Year, which is given out to the WPGA member that has shown excellence in the area of instruction and player development. Wood is currently the Head PGA Professional at Oconomowoc GC. He has been a PGA member for 30 years and on staff at Oconomowoc for the past seven. His passion for instruction and player development cannot be denied. Originally from Two Rivers, Wisconsin he was honored just last year as the WPGA Player Development award winner. The Nashotah resident believes in a teaching philosophy that utilizes old school techniques with new school technology. His experience in instruction has been greatly influenced by many things and individuals. Included in those experiences is the time he spent working at River Wilderness Yacht and Country Club where PGA Tour Professionals, Paul Azinger and Andy Bean honed their games. Last year Wood gave over 1000 individual lessons and during the winter months he has taken on an expanded roll with the Wisconsin PGA s golf in schools program. Wood has been honored for his efforts several times in his career. His accolades include the 2003 WPGA Merchandiser of the Year for private facilities, the 2014 Ping regional club fitter of year and several honors from the Southwest Chapter of the North Florida PGA during his tenure at River Wildness. He has also earned certifications from the PGA of America in player development and instruction. I am honored and humbled, Wood said. Winning this award is certainly the pinnacle of my career. James Anderson, PGA Assistant Professional of the Year The 2016 WPGA Assistant Professional of the Year is Westmoor CC s, James Anderson. He is being recognized for his contributions to the game, to his facility and to the WPGA Section. An Elko, Nevada native, Anderson recently completed his second year as an assistant professional at Westmoor CC in Brookfield. He is a 2011 graduate of New Mexico State University s Professional Golf Management Program. Prior to taking his position at Westmoor he had the privilege of working under Mike Hamblin at Blue Lakes CC in the Rocky Mountain Section, PGA. His accomplishments with the help of Vince Pulizzano, Head PGA Professional at Westmoor, have been wide ranging and bettered the service and offerings to membership at the club He has played an active role in several important initiatives that have been instituted since arriving. Included in that list are important programs such as a club championship qualifying series, major event raffles, a special guest clinic and the duel at dusk golf league. With an appetite for trying to become a better professional, Anderson has recently enrolled in the PGA Certified Professional Program 2.0 with a career path in golf operations, became certified by U.S. Kids Golf and has been expanding his instruction knowledge through sessions with renowned teachers Kevin Weeks and Todd Sones. Not only has Anderson attempted to become a well-rounded PGA Professional but he has also looked at ways to give his fellow assistants a better chance to complete their PGA education. Since

3 he started at Westmoor he has worked to create an endowment fund to help current and future PGA apprentices on staff pay for their PGA education costs. The future is bright for Anderson and these are just a few of the reasons why. I am honored to receive this award and happy to be part of a great section. I have come a long way from where I began but realize there are always areas to improve and mature, Anderson said when reflecting on his honor. Rich Tock, PGA Horton Smith Award The Horton Smith Award is given annually to the member that contributes to education programs for the betterment of the members and/or apprentices in the WPGA. The 2016 winner is Rich Tock of Erin Hills. After almost 40 years of PGA membership the Wisconsin PGA was definitely due for Rich Tock to be honored with the Horton Smith Award. Tock has had a profound impact on everyone he has worked with or been involved with in the game of golf. Before arriving at Erin Hills back in 2010 he left his mark on Ozaukee CC as their Head PGA Professional for 21 years and another 11 years at South Hills G&CC. Tock s list of accomplishments and accolades are numerous and include several facets of the game including teaching, playing and association participation. From the Wisconsin PGA alone he has been honored as Golf Professional of the Year in 1989 and 2008, Teacher of the Year in 1990 and Merchandiser of the Year (Private) in He also has won numerous WPGA events and is a 6- time WPGA Senior Player of the Year. His impact on the education of PGA Professionals started back in 1974 when he helped organize the first year of the Wisconsin Assistant Professionals Association. From there he moved on to 9 years on the WPGA Board of Directors, including 2 years as the Association President in 1987 and Shortly thereafter he served on three different PGA of America committees (teaching, apprentice and communications / public awareness). This honor is a true testament to the effect Tock has had on the Wisconsin PGA and all his fellow PGA members. I have always enjoyed giving back to the associations and mentoring the many employees I have had over the years. I have been fortunate to have a wonderful family that gave me the time to pursue this great game of golf, Tock said. Nick Byom, PGA Youth Player Development Award For the fifth time in the past eleven years The Legend Clubs have been recognized with the Youth Player Development Award. Taking home this year s honor is Head PGA Professional at The Legend at Merrill Hills, Nick Byom. This award signifies excellence in and a dedication to developing young golfers. Byom a UW-Eau Claire graduate is being recognized by the Wisconsin PGA for the third time. He also has received the 2011 Assistant Professional of the Year and 2012 Assistant Player of the Year awards.

4 At The Legend Clubs they take great pride in the type and scope of the junior program they run. A sign of their dedication and seriousness to the program is evident in the fact that they completely shut down The Legend at Merrill Hills for the entire day on Tuesdays. The program exposes over 300 plus juniors to the game of golf throughout the summer and covers all types of skill and age levels. With this size program it takes a staff of at least 10 golf professionals, 30 or more teaching assistants and a very involved junior committee to make it successful. In recent years they have jumped on board and incorporated some of the key PGA initiatives into their programs. Just like their own programming they have gone above and beyond by fielding six PGA Junior League teams and selling out a 200 plus attendee Drive, Chip & Putt qualifier. This award to me represents The Legend Clubs as a whole and is not an individual award. I m honored to accept this award on behalf of the club and all the support it shows to junior golf, Byom said. Lucas Hana, PGA Player Development Award Lucas Hana, PGA is the recipient of the 11 th WPGA Player Development Award. The award marks the fourth time that Hana has been recognized by the Wisconsin PGA. His other honors include the Assistant Professional of the Year in 2005, Junior Leader in 2008 and Teacher of the Year in He has been on staff at Green Bay CC for the past 15 years and is currently their Director of Instruction. Elected to PGA membership in 2002, he is a graduate of the New Mexico State University s Professional Golf Management Program. During his tenure at Green Bay CC he also was able to dedicate time to being the UW-Green Bay women s golf coach from Hana s success in growing the game happens on all levels and he is proud of the programs he has helped grown and planned at Green Bay CC. He is especially proud of the work he has done with the ladies membership. Instituting programs such as weekly clinics, the Green Bay Packer wives clinic and free lessons for moms on Mother s Day weekend are just a few of the examples. Although his work with the adult members at Green Bay CC is very impressive, it is the junior golf program that he takes the most enjoyment from. Their program includes 90 different junior golf classes throughout the summer and five days of the week have some sort of offering. A sign of the type of program they run includes an honor as a US Kids Top 50 instructor back in The highlight of his 2016 season with the juniors was his work with their PGA Junior League program. He coordinated the club team to the area championship and also got the opportunity to lead NE Wisconsin All Star squad. I share this award with my students, my facility and everyone who shares my passion for the game and helping others, Hana said. Bill Graham, PGA Bill Strausbaugh Award & Private Merchandiser of the Year Not often does the Wisconsin PGA get the chance of distributing two of their special awards to the same individual in one year. Bill Graham, Head PGA Professional at Chenequa CC is being honored as the Bill Strausbaugh award winner and Private Merchandiser of the Year. They are two awards that he is very familiar with as he was the last WPGA member to win two special awards in one year with the very combination back With the 2016 honors Graham has now been recognized three times in each category.

5 Graham, a Danville, IL native, has been the Head PGA Professional at Chenequa CC for the past 16 years. He is a Kansas State University graduate and spent time working at Danville CC, Fiddlesticks CC and North Shore CC in Glenview, IL before arriving at Cheneqau CC. The Bill Strausbaugh Award is presented each year to the PGA member who has shown outstanding integrity, commitment to mentoring PGA Professionals and has made a significant impact on the careers of PGA Professionals. Graham personifies these very qualities and truly takes pride in making his staff better people and employees each day. He has successfully had nine assistant professionals that have either accepted or been offered Head Professional positions. In a fitting response for the Strausbaugh award Graham said. Winning something like this means my team has bought into our system and embraced it as they re own. It means they are succeeding and putting themselves in spots that will benefit them. From a merchandising perspective it once again took a team effort and little outside the golf shop thinking. They set out a goal to really start to incorporate a lot of items not necessarily related to golf. With plenty of research they introduced these new avenues and continued to a do a great job with their core golf products. The result was the best year Graham has had in the golf shop since starting at Chenequa CC. In addition to his Bill Strausbaugh and Merchandiser of the Year awards, Graham is also a former WPGA Professional of the Year and has been recognized as the Horton Smith recipient twice. Andrew Barrett, PGA - Public Merchandiser of the Year Being a new face in a new place isn t always easy, and Andrew Barrett of Brown Deer Park GC would definitely attest to that. However after accepting the position of Head PGA Professional last winter he hit the ground the running and performed as if he had been there for years. Right off the bat he placed a primary focus on the merchandising operations at Brown Deer. Within weeks of starting the Madison native had created a plan and utilized his staff to do a complete makeover of the current golf shop. In essence a new golf shop was created, with a beautiful new counter, new fixtures and shelves and a flowing layout. The new design took three months to complete and set the stage for a record breaking year of merchandise sales. When the golf season started Barrett and his assistant professionals, Dave Labinski and Ben Popies instituted new ideas and promotions that helped to increase traffic flow into the shop. They then witnessed their hard work pay off throughout the year as revenue, sales, dollars per round and profit exceeded everyone s expectations. Along with his staff Barrett also attributes this honor to several of his mentors such as Jim Schreiber, Bill Graham and Brien Paquette. After finishing runner-up to deserving winners the last 2 years, I was able to focus on what needed to be better. We are all trying to be better and this award was the carrot to push me to do that. It goes to show that great mentors, a great staff and great effort can be rewarded with the right facility. The Merchandiser of the Year honor marks the second WPGA award for Barrett as he was also was recognized in 2010 as the Assistant Professional of the Year.

6 Josue Reyes, PGA - Resort Merchandiser of the Year What can you say? Mr. Josue Reyes and his team at Destination Kohler know just a little bit about selling merchandise. The Wisconsin PGA is proud to recognize Reyes for the sixth time in the past seven years as our Resort Merchandiser of the Year. During this string of impressive awards his efforts were also recognized on a national level as he earned the National PGA Resort Merchandiser of the Year in This past season marked their eighth straight year that Golf World & AGM Platinum has honored them with a Best Golf Shops in America award. In addition they have received the Association of Golf Merchandisers Front Nine Award three times. The Merchandising Manager at Blackwolf Run and Whistling Straits is a native of Puerto Rico and a University of Central Florida graduate. He and his family currently reside in Sheboygan. Besides just the golf shop operations their retail business has been growing and expanding online at kohlerathome.com. In addition to Reyes and his team s wide range of duties, they also played a key role in helping the PGA Championship staff with their merchandising operation at the 2015 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. Reyes though will be the first one to tell you that it could only be done with the help of all his team members. The success of our retail operations is impacted by everyone on our team. I am very grateful and honored to receive this award on behalf of our entire operations staff at Whistling Straits & Blackwolf Run, as well as the Kohler Company.