New Professional Development Committee; News from the PGA Executive Director Conference and PGA Merchandise Show; Pro-Assistant Championship entries open soon; PROfile: Quincy Heard

President's Report

Greg Manley, PGA

Dear Fellow PNWPGA Professionals,
The governance of your Section is taken very seriously by the Section Board, staff and committees. I’m excited to announce a change in committees this year that will improve the development and enhancement of our professionals.

The “Professional Development Committee” is a newly created committee that will deliver important activities for your membership. The chairman will be newly elected Section Secretary, Sean Fredrickson. The committee will lead the following activities of education, mentoring and orientation. Under Sean’s guidance, a Section-wide education program will be developed that all 5 Chapters can align themselves with, delivering the programs in the timeframe and method that best suits each Chapter. A database of mentoring professionals will be established. This resource will allow members to get ideas and guidance from experienced professionals in the field. It will be available by the end of the year. The orientation process will be aligned through each Chapter chairman and the Section to ensure that all new apprentices get the same opportunities and information so that they can succeed in the process and have every opportunity to be active and productive members of their Chapter and Section.

This new endeavor is in perfect alignment with our Section’s mission statement; “serve our member and grow the game”. I hope each of you will be able to take advantage of the products and programs this new committee will deliver. Please feel free to reach out to Jeff Ellison, Sean Fredrickson or myself if you have any comments or questions about this new committee.

The golf season will be upon us quickly, pro-ams will start very soon and I hope you will plan to attend the PNWPGA Pro-Assistant Championship and Section meeting in March. We have many things to deliver to you including a special visit from PGA of America President, Paul Levy.

Please let me know if I can do anything for you!

Thank you,

Greg Manley, PGA
President, PNWPGA

CEO's Report

Jeff Ellison, PGA

I just returned from the PGA Executive Director Conference and PGA Merchandise Show in Florida. I enjoyed two very busy days of interaction with my fellow Section executives and National staff, followed by three days of meeting with our sponsors.

We also enjoyed a presentation by Ian James of Retail Tribe centered on developing and sharing the value to a facility of instruction and growth of the game activities by PGA Professionals. If you want to share your worth with your employer, you need to know this information. Work through the tools offered on PGA.org or work with Monte Koch or Carol Pence to work through the revenue scorecard.

At the Show it was non-stop meetings with our sponsors, first to thank them for their support and secondly to renew their support for 2017. Your thank you letters and emails were a BIG HELP…thank you! For 2017 we renewed – AMA, AME, Antigua, Bridgestone, Bushnell, Club Glove, ClubCar, Cutter & Buck, Golf Genius, Greg Norman, Haas-Jordan, Hole-In-One, USA, Honma, Imperial, Lorente, Northwest Golf Consulting, Pacific Golf & Turf, Page & Tuttle, Pelzer Golf, ProTag, PTE Golf, Range Servant, Sterling Cut Glass, SunDog, TaylorMade-adidas, Voodoo Towels, Winners Award Group, and Yamaha. We also recognize our major championship sponsors – Rosauers, Muckleshoot Casino and Wildhorse Resort – and don’t forget all the sponsors provided by through the PGA of America – National Car Rental, Omega, Mercedes, PGA Tour, JaniKing, Pepsi, PGA National Resort, KitchenAid, Titleist-Footjoy, TaylorMade-adidas and Nike Golf. A big list of great supporters, please return their support by supporting as many as you can.

You should see an announcement soon of our new Chief Membership Officer. This person will be a PGA Member who will oversee the member-related departments and who will have a seat in the Executive Level discussions to advance the PGA Member perspective. “Serve the member” is not just a fancy phrase; we will live it in Palm Beach Gardens.

The Section Spring Meeting is scheduled for March 20 at Glendale CC. I’m pleased to announce that PGA President Paul Levy will be in attendance. Your officers know Paul well and this will be your chance to meet him in person and interact during the meeting. Look for more information on the specific format… and mark your calendar today.

Part of our Strategic Plan is to offer a robust education program in 2017. Our education plan calls for local delivery at a reasonable price. I’ve attended a number of Chapter Board Meetings this winter and I’m happy to report you will see a significant effort to deliver quality programs to you. Please take advantage of the excellent programs being developed. One program that is open to all is the Sweet 16, February 20-21 in Coeur d’ Alene. Mike O’Donnell, PGA of America, Senior Director of Player Development will team with Monte Koch to present “Driving Revenue at Your Facility in 2017 Through Customer Engagement”. This will be an outstanding program and will help you develop essential skills in today’s golf business. Click here for complete information or to register.

Now is the time to develop your PGA Junior League team for 2017. Put simply, this is the single best program the PGA of America has offered the members in my 32 years in the business. It builds golfers, it brings families to the golf course together, it drives revenue to the golf course and it drives revenue to you, the PGA Professional. Need more information? Call me, Monte Koch or Dominic Marconi.

Finally, I’ll be attending all your Chapter Meetings this spring. Please feel free to seek me out after the meeting if you have questions you would prefer to ask in private. Helping you get the most out of your PGA membership is everyone’s goal on your tremendous staff. If I can’t help you, I know they can.

Make a commitment to play the game, teach the game and promote the game in 2017. Thanks to Mike Coury forcing my hand, I’ve already played three times the golf I did in 2016! If I can, you can.

Jeff Ellison, PGA

MSR Opportunity: PGA Compensation Survey

The survey can be accessed by clicking the following link. There is also now a downloadable version of the survey on the Compensation landing page.

Pros on the Move

by Michelle Parish - Tournament & Membership Coordinator

Employment Changes

Kathleen M. Brown, PGA (A-8) - from Esmeralda GC to Twin Lakes Village GC

Robert E Marshall, PGA (A-13) - from Unaffiliated to Michelbook CC

Justin R. Roberts, PGA (A-1) - from Canyon River GC to Beaverhead CC

Robert L. Sanders, PGA (A-1) - from Lewiston G&CC to Esmeralda GC

Class Changes

Jeffrey P. Briney, PGA (Butte CC) - from A-8 to A-13

Matthew A. Bunn, PGA (Hayden Lake CC) - from A-1 to A-4

New Apprentices

Jacob A Boatwright (B-17) - Camas Meadows GC

Brandon C Sladek (B-8) - Sandpines GC

Justin D Wiles (B-8) - Reames G&CC

Newly Elected Members

Justin B. Mills, PGA (A-8)

Reinstated Members

Kelly Barclay, PGA (A-19)

Transfers OUT of the Section

Britney M Hayes (B-8) to SW Section

Kevin J. Quinn, PGA (A-12) to N. California

Transfers IN to the Section

Cody R Ballou (B-8) - from N. California to Unaffiliated

Michael S. Brooks, PGA (A-6) - from Carolinas to Quail Ridge GC

Craig Hunt, PGA (LMA) - from Carolinas to Unaffiliated

Margaret M. Simons (B-6) - from Carolinas to The Oregon GC

George L. Stoffel Jr., PGA (Unaffiliated) from S. Texas

New Quarter Century

Thomas B. Carey, PGA

Jeffrey R. Coston, PGA

Sally M. Miller, PGA

PGA Financial Assistance Fund Scholarship

Applications are available for the PGA Financial Assistance Fund Scholarship. This opportunity is open to both high school seniors and current college students who are children or grandchildren of PGA Members. If your child has not received a scholarship in the past, keep applying. We use this very same application for the distribution of our Bunny Mason Scholarships. We awarded two last year and expect to do the same in 2017. Go to pga.org for the application.

Pro-Assistant Championship Entries Open This Weekend!

Head PGA Professional Kenney Boyd is excited to host this year at Glendale CC and invites you to join us for both the tournament and our Spring General Meeting, which will immediately follow our first round at 7:00 pm. You are all invited to attend. Dress attire for the meeting is golf attire, but it is okay to wear a jacket!

The Section is now using Golf Genius for all tournament entries. Entries will be available beginning Saturday, February 4 at: http://www.pnwpga.com/event/2017-pnw-pro-assistant-championship/

Team Champions: Tom and Karen Easton, Issac Henry-Cano, Sue and Randy Burke

Section Escapes to Mauna Lani Resort

By Jeff Ellison, PGA

While the Northwest enjoyed snow, ice and wind, twenty-one teams lead by Pacific Northwest Section PGA professionals timed it perfect and headed to Hawai’i for the 42^nd PNW Hawai’i Pro-Am. The beautiful Mauna Lani Bay Hotel and its two golf courses were our base for eight days of 80+ degrees and light island breezes. Between sitting on the beach, sitting by the pool, trips to the volcano, and lunch at the Ocean Grill the teams managed three rounds over the Mauna Lani North and South courses.

Koll Farman fired an opening round 63 on South to serve notice he was not just on in the islands for vacation and Mark Rashell’s team from The Golf Club at Newcastle opened up an early four-point lead as the took the round 1 team title at 136 points. For round two we moved to the challenging North Course where Issac Henry-Cano fired an impressive 67 and brought his Fairwood team in at 142 points…serving notice they were the team to beat for the overall title. For the final round, the group moved back to the South Course where Koll Farman and Greg Manley posted 66 and Todd Kruse and his team from The Oregon Golf Club posted the best team score at 139.

In the end, Issac Henry-Cano’s team of Randy and Sue Burke and Tom and Karen Easton from Fairwood G&CC took home the team honors at 275 points. Low professional honors went to Koll Farman of Meridian Valley at 87 points. Low gross went to Arne Helmersen of Fairwood at 72 points. Three tied for low net with 80 points – Richard Brandsma (Fircrest), Mike Murray and Matt Murray both of The Golf Club at Newcastle.

Special thanks to long-time sponsor Jim Ostrander of State Farm and to Director of Golf Tom Sursely, PGA for being our host. The 2018 Hawai’i Pro-Am is scheduled for January 11-18, plan to join us!

View final results: https://2017hawaiiproam.golfgenius.com

Holk's Highlights: Quincy Heard, PGA

Facility: Summit Golf Foundation

Hometown: Born in Montgomery, AL

PGA Member Since: 2006

Quincy was brought from the south to the west coast by the US Navy. His first station was in San Diego, CA, but his ship was stationed in the dry docks at Swan Island in Portland. After serving in the US Navy, he returned to Portland and tried out a myriad of jobs in hopes of finding a career.

“I introduced myself to golf on my 21st birthday and was hooked after the first swing. I set forth in search of a career plan to allow retirement at 35 and pursuit of playing at the highest level I could for the rest of my life. At 27, I realized that life is precious and short with no promise of tomorrow so I set out to just play golf.”

Learn the full story

THE Most Beneficial Tool in My Toolbox

Carol Pence, PGA of America Employment Consultant

I work with employers every day to get the word out to PGA Professionals about open positions. When working side-by-side to gather all of the information regarding the job, there is a multitude of questions posed to me by employers. Topics include:

“Can I get someone here by March 1^st?”
“Do you have some good questions to ask in the interview?”
“Is there a job description I could see?”
“How do other employers conduct the interview process?”
And the big one is: “Do you have data on what others in this position make?”

This last one is of utmost importance to both the employer, to me and ultimately to PGA Professionals. Employers want to know what is involved in getting the best professional for the job. I am looking to assist them in putting the best package together that the club can afford as well as upgrading the position. The compensation and benefits package is, of course, a huge key. Outside of the facility and job title, is there anything more critical?

The PGA Compensation Survey is the most credible source of compensation information in the golf industry.

PGAJLG Success Stories, Part I

Monte Koch, Player Development Regional Manager

In this article, I am going take a step back from promoting PGA Junior League Golf (PGAJLG) myself and give the opportunity to some of our Section Professionals from the Central Washington, Inland Empire and Western Montana Chapters tell their stories. Primarily, I am hoping you’ll see how running with PGAJLG in 2016 made a real positive difference for them and their facilities in terms of revenues, activity at the Club and a general positive brand building for them as professionals.

David Fern, PGA (Downriver GC)

"PGA Junior League has significantly helped Downriver GC, and myself as a PGA Teaching Professional, establish ourselves as a family friendly golf facility and brand. What started as a team of 12 junior golfers, quickly turned into 25 active juniors at Downriver GC within 6 months. We now have a vision of a junior golf academy that brings revenue to the Downriver GC facility and to its PGA Golf Professionals, all while providing a recreational home to dozens of families.

"With Downriver GC Head Professional Steve Conner's support, Monte's help, tips from the Sweet 16 seminar, and the PGAJLG structure, I have shifted my brand image and efforts towards junior golf development at Downriver GC. I have seen my job satisfaction and revenue increase, all while helping junior golfers and families fall in love the game that I fell in love with at age 12."

Changes Hit Social Security Benefits

“Of all the hazards, fear is the worst” – Sam Snead

Social Security benefits for about 60 million retired and disabled workers and their dependents will increase slightly in 2017, but for many beneficiaries, the minuscule 0.3% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will be wiped out by higher Medicare premiums.

Whether you are receiving monthly checks or still paying in, inform yourself of these adjustments.

Most of you have heard of the forfeit when you work while collecting benefits during the years prior to full retirement age. Social Security recipients who collect benefits before their full retirement age will be able to earn more in 2017 without losing benefits due to excess earnings. In 2017, beneficiaries who are under full retirement age for the entire year can earn up to $16,920 without losing any Social Security benefits, up $1,200 from last year. If they earn more than that, they will forfeit $1 in benefits for every $2 earned over that limit. Any benefits lot to the earnings cap are restored at full retirement age in the form of larger monthly benefits, so you do recapture your hard earned dollars eventually.

Individuals who turn 62 this year can collect 74.2% of their full retirement age benefit, compared to 75% for someone whose full retirement age is 66. A spousal benefit is only worth 34.6% of a worker’s primary insurance amount if claimed at age 62, compared to 35% for someone whose full retirement age is 66. Each year you wait to claim and collect benefits, up to age 70, will increase the monthly payout roughly 8%. Two months have been added to the full retirement age as well. Anyone born between 1943 and 1954 will reach full retirement at age 66 and 2 months. In my opinion, we need a lot more than that to fix the shortfall in the general fund that is rapidly heading towards insolvency.

Talk to a professional about your social security retirement plans. If you are unsure about when to file for your Social Security Retirement benefits, who should file and when, give us a call. Often times the decision for how to time your social security benefits depends on your other sources of retirement income, which we can help bring clarity to your situation. We always recommend doing your own research at the source: SSA.

Blake Parrish
Senior VP, Portfolio Manager
Phone: (503) 619-7237
E-mail: blake@bpfinancialassoc.com

Certified Financial Planner Boardof Standards Inc. owns the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, CFP® (with plaque design) and CFP® (with flame design) in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements.”