Presidents' Leadership Award Applications Now Being Accepted

Left to right: USGA President Jim Vernon, Zach Herr, Emily Gimpel and AJGA President of the Board Gayle Champagne.

BRASELTON, Ga. - The American Junior Golf Association has opened applications for the 2010 USGA-AJGA Presidents' Leadership Award, which annually honors one girl and one boy who have demonstrated leadership skills, character and community service through volunteer experiences.

To be eligible for the award, members must submit an application and are encouraged to log their volunteer hours in the AJGA Player Center. A program representative will also need to submit a letter of recommendation to the AJGA on behalf of the applicant to be eligible for the award.

Award recipients will receive four tickets to a future U.S. Open Championship of their choice, including access to the USGA hospitality area, and an automatic entry into the 2010 Rolex Tournament of Champions. The recipients will be honored July 1, 2010, at the Rolex Dinner of Champions at Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark.

Joseph Suarez was honored with this award in 2007 and had the opportunity to attend the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, Calif. "Walking the longest U.S. Open set up in history and watching Tiger Woods win it with a torn ACL and stress fractures in his leg was definitely awe-inspiring," Suarez said. "Being there to see him win it with all odds against him and obstacles to face is an event I will never forget."

Zach Herr of New Hope, Pa., and Emily Gimpel of Lafayette Hill, Pa., earned the Presidents' Leadership Award in 2009. Herr earned the distinction by creating the Zach Attacks Cancer Foundation and dedicating himself to raising money for cancer research, while Gimpel created the Junior Golf Clubs Cancer in 2004 and raised more than $30,000 for St. Christopher’s Foundation for Children.

Applications for the award are due April 19, 2010.

Past Recipients – Presidents' Leadership Award
2009 – Zach Herr (New Hope, Pa.), Emily Gimpel (Lafayette Hill, Pa.)
2008 – Smiley Kaufman (Birmingham, Ala.), Kelsey Conway (Ventura, Calif.)
2007 – Joseph Suarez (Richmond, Va.), Angela Villela (Sylmar, Calif.)
2006 – Adam Michel (Orinda, Calif.), Katrina Delen-Briones (San Francisco, Calif.)