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Committee Achievement Awards Distributed at AJGA Annual Meeting |
Local
chairmen, committees and professionals honored for tireless
efforts |
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| FootJoy's
Sign Boy entertained participants and spectators all week
at the FootJoy Boys Invitational. |
Each
year during the AJGA Annual Meeting’s Digger Smith Banquet
– named after AJGA Chairman of the Board Jordan R. “Digger”
Smith – the AJGA presents awards to the tournaments with
the best individual media coverage, junior-am fundraising tournament,
volunteer support base and hospitality. At this time, the Association
also recognizes its golf professional of the year, new tournament
of the year and overall tournament of the year.
Organizers
of the FootJoy Boys Invitational were honored with the Tournament
of the Year Award, given to the tournament that showcases the
AJGA, its members, sponsors and host facility better than any
other event on the 74-event schedule.
| Click
here for a summary of the 2005 Annual Meeting! |
Organized
locally by Mark Brazil, Jerry Clapp, Lee Heath and a score of
other volunteers, the FootJoy Boys Invitational excelled in
all areas of AJGA tournament operations: committee structure,
sponsorship activation and a TOUR-quality venue. Held at Forest
Oaks Country Club, home to the PGA TOUR’s Chrysler Classic
of Greensboro, the FootJoy Boys Invitational included an appearance
by FootJoy’s Sign Boy, a junior clinic that exposed more
than 75 local children to the talents of AJGA members, and media
coverage from local TV and radio stations, newspapers, magazines.
The Family Toyota/Family Honda Junior was honored with the Newcomer
of the Year award, given to the most outstanding first-year
event on the AJGA schedule with a committee structure that provides
the best possible experience for AJGA members.
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| PGA
TOUR player Esteban Toledo participated in the Junior-Am
at the Family Toyota/Family Honda Junior and gave juniors
a pep talk. |
Toni Clark, tournament chairman of the Family Toyota/Family
Honda Junior, accepted the award. The first-year event featured
an established AJGA golf course, live music at the tournament
cookout, private housing for the entire AJGA staff as well as
numerous juniors, extensive media coverage including 30-second
advertisements aired locally on ESPN and MTV, appearances by
PGA TOUR players Esteban Toledo and Paul Goydos at the Junior-Am
fundraising event and a substantial donation to the Get-a-Grip
Foundation, a local grass-roots golf organization.
“It is sometimes difficult for a first-year event to cover
all of the committee needs that it takes to provide an outstanding
tournament experience,” said 2004 Tournament Director
Ben Kimball. “The committee at the Family Toyota/Family
Honda Junior took the blueprint of what a successful tournament
should look like, copied it and made it their own.”
Bryant Himes of the Colonial Country Club in Jackson, Miss.,
was honored with the Golf Professional of the Year Award, given
annually to the most outstanding club professional.
Himes, who serves as the Tournament Chairman for the Nike Golf
Junior at Colonial presented by Mississippi Farm Bureau, was
presented the award by Tournament Director Gus Montano.
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| Bryant
Himes was honored for his efforts at the Nike Golf Junior
at Colonial presented by Mississippi Farm Bureau. |
“Bryant
began as merely a contact for this event, but he has taken complete
ownership of the tournament and his overall enthusiasm is amazing,”
Montano said. “In only his third year, he continues to
make the event the best experience for not just the juniors,
but everyone involved.”
Himes has taken strides towards improving the tournament by
making the event more hospitable for the juniors and the AJGA
staff. Himes has become a regular in the “long-drive contest”
and has spoiled the AJGA staff with food throughout the tournament
week.
The Dunlop Carolina Junior Championship was honored with the
Junior-Am Award, given annually to the tournament with the most
outstanding Junior-Am.
Tournament Chairman Marshall Bettendorf and the local committee
were honored for their commitment to the Junior-Am at their
event and their attempts to continually improve the fundraising
efforts in Greenville, S.C.
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| Marshall
Bettendorf
(left) speaks at the Junior-Am at the 2004 Dunlop
Carolina Junior Championship. |
“The dedication that Marshall and the committee in Greenville
have toward making the entire week at the Dunlop Carolina Junior
Championship a major success is truly amazing,” 2004 Tournament
Director John Dolan said. “The juniors, who came to play
were given a great experience and the money raised went to a
great cause.”
AJGA Junior-Ams offer local supporters an opportunity to play
a competitive round with some of the top junior golfers, with
a portion of the proceeds going to junior golf charities. The
Dunlop Carolina Junior Championship raised more than $30,000
that went to eight charitable organizations, including the AJGA.
The HP Boys Junior Championship was honored by the American
Junior Golf Association with the Hospitality Award, given to
the tournament that provides AJGA members the best tournament
experience in addition to the competition.
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| HP
set up their latest computer models in the hospitality
room at the HP Boys Junior Championship. |
In
2004, the event was held at Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club
& Lodge for the first time. Each tournament participant
stayed at the lodge that overlooks the golf course. Every meal
during the tournament was paid for by the tournament’s
title sponsor, HP. HP also set up computers for players to check
e-mail and play video games. In addition to these amenities,
players and their parents were given passes to Walt Disney World
during their stay in Orlando.
The PING Junior at the Woodlands was awarded the Volunteers
Award, given annually to the tournament with the most outstanding
volunteer turnout.
Bob and Chris Dernick, co-tournament chairmen at the PING Junior
at the Woodlands, accepted the award. The Dernick’s have
been associated with the AJGA for 13 years and credit the tournament’s
success to the hard work and dedication of its local volunteers.
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| 2004
PING Junior at the Woodlands Tournament Chairman Don Snortland
presents Morgan Pressel with the champion's trophy. |
“It would be impossible to run the tournament without
all the volunteers who are willing to give up their time,”
Chris Dernick said. “Each and every one of them should
be recognized. We truly appreciate their support to a great
organization who helps so many junior golfers.”
“The
tournament committee at the PING Junior at the Woodlands does
an outstanding job bringing in an enormous amount of volunteers
to help with the event,” said 2004 Tournament Director
Derrick Farnham. “To have that many people give up their
time, especially over the Easter Weekend, is a tribute to their
dedication and enthusiasm for junior golf.”
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| This
billboard is just one example of the expansive media exposure
at the Ringgold Telephone Company Junior Classic. |
The
Ringgold Telephone Company Junior Classic was honored with the
Media Award, given annually to the tournament with the most
outstanding media coverage before, during and after an event.
In only its second year, the Ringgold Telephone Company Junior
Classic emerged as the AJGA’s media frontrunner by involving
three local newspapers, two television stations and a sports
talk radio show in the tournament coverage and promotion. |
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