WSCGA Annual Meeting of the State Representatives, Handicap Chairpersons and Association Members January 20, 2015 Forest Lake Country Club Columbia, SC WSCGA Board Members Attending: Tori Langen, Jennifer O Brien, Dana Halliday, Debbie Weber, Leah Bohnen, Marsha Murphy, June Somers, Nancy Dodge, Carole Pincavage, Lynn Holmes, Ellen Miller, Sara Murphy. President Tori Langen called the meeting to order at 10:30 am and welcomed the attendees. This is the start of the WSCGA s sixty- sixth year! Much thanks go to Jen O Brien for a terrific year. We have a great turn- out for our meeting this year, as we had 80 attendees last year and 150 this year. Minutes Annual Association Meeting 1/21/2014 Leah Bohnen The State Representatives had previously received a copy of the 2014 Annual Meeting Minutes via e- mail. Therefore, a motion was made by Ann Smith to waive the reading of the minutes from 1/21/2014 and accept as written. Teddy Stockwell seconded the motion and the motion passed. President s Report Tori Langen REPORTS We are having dwindling numbers in our Association. We are always looking for new members and we rely on our State Reps to help us locate and recruit them. Colleton River will be hosting the USGA Junior Championship July 20-26, 2015. They are looking for volunteers to help with this tournament. Anyone who volunteers for 4 shifts will get a free round of golf. Please see Marsha Murphy or Ginny Hackbert if interested. Treasurer Report Debbie Weber WSCGA Association: We have had a very good year, with a very conservative 2014 Budget, staying under budget for the year. Income was $175,979, Expenses of 1
$141,000, leaving a net surplus of $34,755, which will be used to replenish our savings that we would like to build up to cover one year s worth of our contract obligations. We have a bank balance of $102,376. We are going to be a little more aggressive with some of our savings this next year to make a better return on our money. Jr. Foundation: A very successful year through our raffles and donations. Started the year with $21,597, had Revenue of $28,817, Expenses of $20,727, leaving a Net Balance of $8,090. Have passed a balanced budget and have cash in bank of $29,687. One-Days Dana Halliday For our 2014 season we had six cancellations. We had 1447 people participate (includes One- Days and Championships) and gave out $33,000 in prize money. That said, we have plenty of room for more to play, so Dana encourages everyone to bring a friend to play in our events. Price for our One- Days has stayed at $25 for many years. In the future, with the addition of on- line registration we will eventually be increasing our fee to $30. WSCGA Junior Girls Ellen Miller 2014 WSCGA Junior Girls State Championship was held at Columbia CC on June 10-12. Mary Kathryn Toledo (Columbia), Jensen Castle (West Columbia) and Lauren Stephenson (Lexington) were the winners of the three divisions. On August 1-3 the GA/SC Junior Challenge Matches were held at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, GA. Looking forward to 2015: SC will host the GA/SC Junior Challenge Matches at Palmetto Club, Aiken. The Junior Girls State Championship will be held in early June with venue still being finalized. Thank you to all who donated and supported the Girls Junior Golf this year through 50/50 raffles, individual donations, and LGA donations. All names of donors are posted on website. WSCGA Junior Golf Foundation Karen Vijuk After an introduction of the Foundation Board Members, Karen thanked everyone for their generous support of the Foundation through donations and raffles. Karen explained items from the Foundation that were included in the State Rep. packets that they picked up before meeting. Included was a letter to the LGA Presidents, an application for the Jane Covington Classic and a brochure about the Foundation. The Brochure lists the 2014 accomplishments (only 2% of all expenditures went for Administrative costs!) and goals for 2015. Also a Representative To Do List to help and support the Foundation. This next year the Foundation would also like to find some major sponsors; asking for help from our LGA s and Reps with finding them. 2
Rating Chairman Linda Miller 2014 was a very productive year. Added a new rating group in Columbia area led by Lynn Holmes. Lynn is looking for additional raters in this area. Fifty- three courses were rated, with three more being finalized. Executive Director Jen O Brien Jen thanked everyone for their continued support, particularly during a time of lots of changes. She loves to hear from us, either as individuals or LGA s, whether it is with concerns, suggestions, compliments or photos. Always need fun stories, events, and photos for our website and quarterly e- newsletter. The 2016 schedule is in the process of being set- up. Some Rep. packets have letters included to be given to their Pro Shops/Boards regarding holding a 2016 event. In 2016 the Amateur and Match Play Championship will switch dates, having the Amateur played in June and the Match Play in September. The WSCGA, SCGA and CGA all work together on GHIN handicap system. A reminder that you must have a GHIN handicap to play in any of these events. The 2015 schedule is out. We are encouraged to play in the Carolina s Net Amateur (run by the WSCGA, SCGA and CGA), November 21-22, at Pinehurst #1. It is a fantastic venue and a great deal! We will again have three Fun & Funky One- Days, with on- line registration. These are great tournaments for anyone who hasn t played a lot of tournaments and wants to give it a try. We ask our members to keep in mind that we are always looking for Corporate or individual partners to help keep our costs and fees low. WSCGA Board Nominations NEW BUSINESS After the Nominating Committee met and presented their slate of candidates for the 2015 Board, it was brought to our attention that due to the new Bylaws transition, we were short a Member- at- Large nominee (put up two and needed three). Marsha Murphy, our Parliamentarian, was asked to look into how to handle this. She found that the Board can put up a nominee to fill this third position. Board recommended Nancy Dodge, due to her experience and as she was leaving the Board this year, she was able to serve another 2 year position. Sara Murphy presented the slate of proposed nominees: President- Elect, Leah Bohnen (Three Pines CC, Woodruff, SC), Teresa Sprouse (Hunters Creek Country Club, Greenwood, SC), Fran Warner (The Reserve Club at Woodside Plantation, Aiken, SC), Nancy Dodge (Golden Hills Golf & Country Club, Gilbert, SC). Asked for any nominations from the floor. None were put forward. Ballots were cast and collected. 3
Later in the meeting, after all ballots were counted, all nominations were elected by the State Representatives. WSCGA Bylaws Vote Tori Langen Proposal: Change who can serve on the Nominating Committee. Reasoning: This will allow the committee a better selection of current board members to nominate for executive committee roles. Change: A Nominating Committee shall consist of five persons: the Immediate Past President, one person from the Board of Governors and three member representatives elected by plurality vote at the first Board of Governors meeting of each calendar year. The Chair shall be the Immediate Past President. page 6 Section 2 Nominating Committee Wording should now change to following: The Nominating Committee shall consist of two (2) members of the Board of Governors and three (3) persons in good standing with Member Associations. The three members... Betty Reynolds moved to accept above Nominating Committee change. Anne Smith seconded. Motion passed. Proposal: Create another level of club membership the Affiliate Member. Reasoning: This will allow us to accept a member club that is not currently using the handicap system, essentially for course rating purposes only. Their members will not be eligible for any events because our condition of competition states players must have a current handicap index issued by the Women s South Carolina Golf Association s Handicap Program. They will not be able to cast a vote. Change: Affiliate Membership Available to clubs with real estate who desire course rating services and who do not utilize the Association s Computerized Handicap Services. These members do not have voting privileges and are not eligible to participate in Association events. Anne Smith made a motion to accept adding an Affiliate membership as stated above. Sue Lord seconded. Motion passed. CGA Presentation Tiffany Priest Tiffany reminded our members that being a member of the WSCGA automatically makes you a member of the CGA and the SCGA, entitling you to play in all events if you have an active GHIN handicap. All CGA and SCGA events can be found on WSCGA website under Sponsored Links. The CGA has fifty One- Day events per year, with two divisions for women. This year there will be a Women s One- Day fun event held March 23 rd. 4
Player of the Year The 2014 Senior Player of the Year is Lea Anne Brown (Bulls Bay) with 910 points. The 2014 Player of the Year is Dawn Woodard (Thornblade) with 1410 points. Both were presented with trophies and they gave special thanks to the WSCGA Board, Jen and all clubs that hosted these events. Closing Words Karen Vijuk recognized the outgoing Foundation Board Members, Barb Hocking and Genon Krivohlavek, both who have spent over 30 years between them as past WSCGA Presidents and almost every other WSCGA position. Tori gave special recognition to Carolyn Brooks (Golden Hills Golf and Country Club) for being a State Representative for 17 years. Thanks go to Carol Pincavage, outgoing WSCGA Member- at- Large. As out- going President, Tori gave words of thanks to Jen and the Board. She handed over the President s Trophy and gavel to Dana Halliday, incoming President. Dana said that after two years of training under Tori as President- Elect, she feels more then ready to take over! Presented Tori with a thank- you gift from the WSCGA. Breakouts Attendees were asked to participate in breakout sessions, which included: LGA Presidents, One- Day Chairs, State Representatives, Handicap Chairs, and Foundation Board Meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 11:45 am. Respectfully Submitted, Leah Bohnen Secretary 5