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AJGA
Honors Mary Carriker With Digger Smith Award
Long-time
San Antonio tournament chairman honored for dedication to
junior golf
Mary
Carriker of San Antonio, was presented the Digger Smith Award
Friday, Feb. 21 by the American Junior Golf Association for
her prolonged dedication as a Tournament Chairman.
Each year the AJGA presents the Digger Smith Award to an individual
whose service to junior golf goes above and beyond the call
of duty. The award is named for AJGA Chairman of the Board
J.R. “Digger” Smith, who has dedicated himself
to the AJGA and junior golf for more than two decades. Smith
was honored as the Golfweek “Father of the
Year” in 1995.
As Tournament Chairman of the 2003 Randall Parker San Antonio
Shootout presented by Parker Express, Carriker enters her
12th year of service with the AJGA that dates back to 1994.
Over the last five years, she has helped raise donations of
more than $25,000 to give back to the AJGA. In an effort to
promote the event she regularly has billboard advertisements
placed throughout the San Antonio area. Her event also offers
unparalleled amenities at the tournament site, including access
to cell phones so junior participants can call home.
“At my first Tournament Chairmen’s Meeting back
in 1993, I heard about the award and I knew it was possible
with enough hard work,” Carriker remembered. “It’s
been my goal since then, but that doesn’t mean I’m
going to quit.”
Carriker’s involvement with the AJGA has opened up other
doors for her in the San Antonio area as of late, she said.
She was previously honored in 1998 with the Betty Dodd Award
for her service to junior golf in San Antonio. She now holds
the position of Manager of Amateur Golf Programs with Golf
San Antonio, which includes San Antonio’s First Tee
program.
“The AJGA gave me the opportunity to establish myself
and get where I am today,” she said. “I now have
some new goals with my position I am in. If I can take one
of the juniors in the First Tee through the program and get
him or her a college scholarship, now that would be my ultimate
goal.”
This year, Carriker will once again head up the Randall Parker
San Antonio Shootout presented by Parker's Express taking
place June 10-13 at Tapatio Springs Golf Resort in Boerne,
Texas. Last year’s champions were Polo Golf Junior All-Americans
James Minahan III of Spring, Texas, and Brittany Lang of McKinney,
Texas.
“Mary is the AJGA’s model for success,”
said AJGA Executive Director Stephen Hamblin. “Her 12
years of devotion to junior golf is simply amazing. She is
responsible for virtually every detail that has really made
the tournament into one of the best on the AJGA schedule.”
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