Fast Facts
- Name: Mary Ann Cowgur
- Hometown: Bentonville, Arkansas (Home of Walmart 😊)
- Internship Year(s): None! I'm one of the few staff members who never completed an internship
- Began Full-Time: May 15, 1991 (Celebrating 30 years at the AJGA this year!)
- Role(s) during time w/ AJGA: Membership Secretary and Executive Assistant
- College/Graduation Date: 1969 - University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
- Major/Minor: Associate Degree in College of Business
- Married: Married for 37 years to my high school sweetheart / Divorced in 2007
- Kids:
- Blessed with five daughters, including a set of twins:
- Ashley Gettys (48) of Greenville, South Carolina
- Tracee Meyer (45) of Wilmington, North Carolina
- Allison Luckadoo (40) of Wilmington, North Carolina
- Andrea Terrill (40) of Raleigh, North Carolina
- My oldest daughter, Julie (49) of Nashville, passed away July 9, 2020
- Blessed with five daughters, including a set of twins:
- Favorite movies: The Way We Were, A Star is Born, You've Got Mail
- Favorite artists: Lady Gaga, George Strait, Tim McGraw, James Taylor
- Favorite sports teams: Arkansas Razorbacks, St. Louis Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys
- Number of states traveled to: 34 (Arkansas, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, California, Nevada, Oregon, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii)
Get to know Mary Ann
- What's one thing people don't know about you? I had Christmas dinner on a Guided Missile Cruiser, the USS Columbus, in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Nice, France in 1970.
- How were you introduced to golf? I was introduced at the University of Arkansas in golf class.
- What sports did you play growing up? Softball
- What's your favorite AJGA experience/memory? I have several. The first has to be hosting the AJGA staff at my home in Horseshoe Bend for dinner. Especially loved having the young guys (Greg Allen, CA Roberts and Mark Brazil) over to watch basketball games when we all first started working at the AJGA. The second is going to The Masters with Ann Cain on the Sunday that Tiger won his first Masters. Finally, meeting Hank Aaron at a tennis match with Ann Cain was a moment I won't forget.
- What’s your favorite thing to do outside of the AJGA and golf? Travel!
- Who's been your biggest influence in life? My parents
- What’s your favorite interaction with a junior/sponsor/alumni/etc? I love working with the AJGA Board and getting to know them . . . and I've even made several lifelong friends. I have also loved getting to know all the Player Representatives over the past 30 years. Lisa Cornwell stayed at my home when she attended board meetings the first year I started work at the AJGA and we have remained friends ever since!
- What would you do if you won the lottery? Make my daughters, grandchildren and a few friends very happy, find a way to help the homeless, give a large donation to my church and OK . . . buy a beach house and a sports car and travel 😊
- What's the best piece of advice you've ever received? Philippians 4:13 “I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me”
- Would you rather win an Olympic Medal, an Academy Award or the Nobel Peace Prize? A Nobel Peace Prize, however an Olympic Medal would be really cool!
- If you could have any superpower, what would you choose? The Power of Healing!
- Would you rather be the best player on a horrible team or the worst player on a great team? I like to win so I’m going to have to say “the worst player on a great team.”