By John Egnot
Manager of Media Relations

As the 2006 season comes to a close with the Polo Golf Junior Classic, the AJGA staff has already began looking forward to a bigger and better 2007. New concepts and fresh ideas are already being tossed around to try to make the Association and its tournaments better than ever.

What many may not know is that a lot of the ideas and programs that are implemented by the AJGA come as a result of the annual staff retreat that takes place in mid-October, after the summer rush and prior to the Polo Golf Junior Classic.

New hires Sara Wagoner (left) and Julie Kickbusch (right) during the van ride to Pigeon Forge, Tenn.

And while there is plenty of time set aside for meetings and discussion, there is also time for some fun as well, and if you can tell from seeing us on the road, the AJGA staff tends to have a little bit of fun from time to time.

This year, the staff took to Black Bear Ridge in the tourist town of Pigeon Forge, Tenn., for the first time. Nearly a four-hour drive from the bustling town of Braselton, Ga., the route to Pigeon Forge includes a two-hour jaunt through the Smokey Mountain National Park.

This is one of the most beautiful places you will ever see, but try lugging a trailer behind you through the sharp curves and hairpin turns and you will have a much stronger appreciation for life itself. Picture the car commercials you see on TV, you know the ones where professional drivers wind around mountains with ease. Now, imagine doing that in a conversion van with a trailer attached. I’m proud to say I have a future in stunt driving if the whole golf thing doesn’t work out.

Upon arriving at Black Bear Ridge, the staff gathered in the common area of one of the lodges for an afternoon of meetings and skits. The highlight of the afternoon saw Regional Director Lee Pinchouck and Manager of Communications Sara Wagoner don capes of Astroturf to portray a divot and ball mark in a skit about caring for and maintaining golf courses.

Meetings aside, everyone was looking forward to the steak and chicken dinner prepared by the department heads and led by AJGA Master Chef Jason Miller. Arguably the most highly anticipated meal on the AJGA’s yearly schedule, Miller received nearly a five-minute standing ovation from the entire staff at the end of dinner, quite a feat considering how difficult it was to stand after the feast.

The AJGA’s annual “mafia night” broke out next. If you haven’t heard of it or played before, basically it’s a game of lying, deceit and making fun of people. In the AJGA’s case, it’s mostly a chance to break in the new rookie class via kicking them out of the game early and some token verbal abuse. It’s all done in good fun, though.

On day two, the featured activity of the day was bowling at the local town center. This always serves as an activity sure to bring about a few easy laughs. Two highlights stand out from the outing, one being Director of Education Andrew “Bunker” Greenfield bowling a career-high 214.

Jason Miller celebrating either a strike or his awesome meal from the night before.

The other brings us back to Jason Miller. As you can see in the adjacent photo, ‘J-Mills’ perfected the strike (or spare) celebration with his version of the river dance. He didn’t stop there, however. Miller busted out a plethora of moves and celebrations, making one wonder if he has been hanging out with Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Johnson or Jon Heder from the greatest movie of our generation, Napoleon Dynamite.

After coming back to the lodges for dinner, another tradition, “AJGA Game Night” was next on the docket. The evening featured the construction of free-standing tin-foil structures, and of course, movie trivia. If running golf tournaments is what the AJGA does best, picking out obscure quotes from characters in Tommy Boy and Dumb and Dumber is a very close second.

The next day, the AJGA staff, seven vans deep, loaded up the trailers and headed back to Braselton. As is the case every year, the entire staff came back tired yet rejuvenated with the memories of another successful, and at times comical, staff retreat.