Jeff Ellison, PGA
Your delegation is just returning from the 103rd PGA Annual Meeting where your representatives participated in the governance of our association. Two resolutions passed, and we said thank you to District 14 Director Don Rea as our own Doug Doxsie formally became a member of the PGA Board of Directors.
Thank you, Don Rea, for your four years of service. You served our Section, the Southwest Section and our association well. We value your friendship and look forward to seeing you in the future. Doug has already been working with your leaders to encourage our National body to enhance their efforts to serve the members. You’ll see great things from Doug in his three-year term on the Board.
Resolution 1 and 2 both passed easily. Resolution 1 removed the US Citizenship requirement for membership from the Constitution. With golf becoming a global game and the association expanding into the global arena, this move will only enhance our appeal to those working in international positions. Resolution 2 involves the transfer to the Life Member – Active classification. With its approval, all NEW transfers to Life Member – Active will require members to have completed the entrance education requirement before transferring to this classification. In our current structure, the only Class A members who have not completed this requirement are those who have spent their entire membership as A-3’s.
Your Section and Chapter Boards are hard at work this winter approving Business Plans, Budgets and preparing to deliver on our mission of “Serving the member and growing the game.” Now is the time to reach out to your Chapter or Section officers to share your thoughts. Their job is easy when they know what all 1,200 of our professionals are thinking. Oregon met on the 10th, Central meets on the 18th, Inland will gather on December 4 and the Section will convene on December 9-10. Western Washington and Montana also have plans in process.
Thank you all for participating in the Special Awards process in your chapter. Whether you nominated your neighbor or completed a bio, you are the key to identifying the best among us. The Section Awards Committee begins work on November 16, working through the difficult task of reviewing the winners from the five chapters in each of our nine awards. They will read the bios, go over the analysis by the chapter committees and do additional research. You can be confident that this group will identify the outstanding professionals among these chapter winners. The Board will have final approval on December 10. Look for the winners to be announced once each has been notified.
The 2020 schedule has been updated with a couple of sites and you can count on more soon. The dates are solid, we just need a few more course board approvals: https://www.pnwpga.com/tournaments/2020-tournament-schedule/
Sponsors are key to both our Section and Chapter operations. Please take a few minutes this winter to send a thank you email to these important partners. The Section and all five Chapters have a list on their websites. Send a few or email them all... your efforts make a difference. Find a complete list of Section Tournament sponsor contact information on the online member handbook: https://web.foretees.com/pnwpga/
Congratulations to all of you for bringing our compensation survey number back up. This is a very powerful tool for our PGA Career Consultant, Monte Koch. Local data is instrumental in helping all of us improve our compensation. Also, thanks to the dedicated efforts of our many captains, the Pacific Northwest Section was the #1 Section in PGA Junior League participation with 3,395 kids participating at the local level. That’s both growing the game and growing revenue at your facilities. Nice work!
If you have college age children or grandchildren, be sure to check out the PGA Financial Assistance Fund Scholarship. The application process opens later this month on pga.org, please apply. The Pacific Northwest PGA Junior Golf Fund also uses this same application for the Bunny Mason Scholarship process, making two chances for your family.
Thank you all for a great 2019. We are already off to a positive start to 2020 with Hawaii and Vegas sold out. We look for great things next year with all of you playing and promoting the game!
Have a great off-season. Rest a little. Plan for PGA Junior League, help us promote Drive Chip and Putt and watch your email for new opportunities to enhance your career and compensation.
Jeff Ellison, PGA
CEO, Pacific NW Section PGA
Doug Doxsie, PGA
Greetings,
I wanted to use my first article as PGA District 14 Director to introduce myself and share some thoughts about this role. My name is Doug Doxsie, PGA Head Golf Professional at the Seattle Golf Club. I am taking over for outgoing PGA District 14 Director Don Rea Jr. from the Southwest Section PGA. Don did an incredible job representing our section the last three years and deserves our appreciation.
Throughout my career I have had the opportunity to interact with most of you and, for those I haven’t met, I welcome the chance to get to know you. You may wonder, what does the District Director do? Very simply, the District Director sits on the PGA of America Board of Directors for a three-year term. For our District 14, I will represent the Pacific Northwest Section and the Southwest Section.
For those who don’t know my background; I was the PGA Head Professional at Meridian Valley Country Club for 6 years, then moved to Seattle Golf Club where I have been the Head Golf Professional for the past 25 years. I was a Pacific Northwest Section PGA Board Member for twelve years from 1995 through 2006, including all the officer positions and as President in 2003-2004. Since that time, I have stayed involved by chairing various section and chapter committees. I truly enjoy helping our members and our association and was honored to be selected by the Pacific Northwest Section Board of Directors to serve as the new District 14 Director.
I just returned from the PGA Annual Meeting in West Palm Beach, Florida and came away feeling energized about what our association is doing and what opportunities are out there to help our PGA Members and Associates. I enjoyed spending time with both the Pacific Northwest and Southwest Section Officers and Executive Directors. This dialog is invaluable to understand the challenges, opportunities and ideas each section has.
In due time you will find that my passion for the PGA Professional, the PGA of America and the golf industry runs deep. While I certainly have ideas on what we can do to improve our association and what we can do for our members, I don’t have any agenda. I simply believe that everything we do as an organization should be with the goal of serving the member and their needs. We need to continue to find ways to drive value, benefits and programs to our PGA Members and Associates.
In simple terms, I view my role to you is threefold; make good decisions as a board member on your behalf, communicate to you what is going on at National and lastly, work on your behalf on any issues, concerns or thoughts you have a PGA Member or as a Section.
Finally, I want you to know that I am happy to discuss anything you would like, please reach out to me via email or by phone with any ideas, concerns, or thoughts. I represent all of you so let me know what is on your mind.
Thank you for this opportunity to represent you, the Members of the Pacific Northwest Section PGA.
Sincerely,
Doug Doxsie, PGA
Seattle Golf Club
PGA District 14 Director
425-681-8889
doxpga@msn.com
Monte Koch, PGA of America Employment Consultant
While I’m no “million-miler,” I have been flying a lot lately. Covering parts of both the PNW and Rocky Mountain PGA Sections, I’ve been to Montana, Idaho and Florida in the last month. As my flight from Boise came in earlier this week, through some of the heaviest fog I’ve seen in a while, I was once again reminded of my position when I’m flying.
On approach to SeaTac, we were flying in through the clouds and the standard rain prevalent to the area. We were bouncing along through the thick layer of clouds, where you couldn’t see anything above or below but the lights on the wings. Normally, there is a point where the clouds break (about 1000’ or more) and you can see the lights on building, roads, etc. It took longer this time. Many of us have experienced this before.
We either give in to fear or trust, because, after all, we’re just the passengers on this jet. Literally, all we have is trust… our trust in the pilot, our trust in the plane (its parts and the mechanics who put it together) and our trust in the plan, the staff in the tower at SeaTac. Except for the times we’re “bouncing” along in the sky, we don’t even give these “trust points” a second thought, do we?
What does the pilot trust in? He or she also trusts in the plane, but more importantly they also TRUST THEIR OWN SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE, their ability to read the instruments on the plane and follow the flight plan they developed before taking off. To take off, with literally hundreds of people (plus their families at home) counting on you for their safety, must be a huge responsibility, and I am glad these pilots take it very seriously.
Can we apply these principles to the work of a golf professional? (I’m going to try of course.) Difference making and responsibility taking is what separates THE PILOT (or the Captain) from the passengers. In the last two decades, it’s my view that too many professionals have been willing to take a seat in the back as passengers, or a steward, or maybe even the First Officer in leading their facility or their operation (although sometimes it may feel like it hasn’t been their choice as someone higher up made the choice for them). Either way, they’ve let someone else be The Pilot who defines where their “career-craft” (like a plane) is going and when.
As a result, many professionals feel helpless, held down by their own well-meaning and effective work ethic standards. As a result, too much focus is given to getting the urgent activities of work done every day, and the very important activities of career development and planning are set aside.
Maybe you’ve been one of these pros? Maybe you’ve been working very hard for five or ten years, but still feel like you haven’t gotten anywhere in your career. (Of course, that is not true, but that may point to being constantly overwhelmed by the “urgent”.) But, it’s not too late.
As my Dad mentored me, often using these words, I would like you to consider this statement: You are now who you have been becoming. What do they mean to you – and your career as it is, at this very moment? If you’re not yet who you want to be (we should all be looking to improve, to grow) – now is the time to set aside the urgent to focus (and act upon) what is important. Be the Pilot of your career and start today.
To help you and any peers you would like to share this with, our PGA Career Services team has launched an online courseto take you through the process, beginning with an exploration of your values. From there, we can create a pathway that is more likely to create happiness, and therefore more likely to lead to success. It’s time to move from the middle of your “career-craft” to the cockpit. And don’t worry, I will be there to work with you as you start and progress through the course.
Are you ready for takeoff?
Monte Koch, PGA Certified Professional/Player Development | Career Consultant
PGA Career Services | PGA of America
Serving PGA professionals, employers in the Pacific NW & Rocky Mountain PGA Sections
Email: Mkoch@pgahq.com Cell: 206/335-5260
Branden Thompson, PGA - Regional League Manager
Captain Registration
Registration will be open November 18th. The process is the same as last year, but we have added some ways for you to provide more information that will be included in your listing online like important schedule dates and captain & coach bios. To register, go to: www.pgajrleague.com/captains
Consumer Surveys
Your consumers have provided a lot of great feedback via the surveys sent out to them after the season. Once again PGA Jr. League has a very high Net Promoter Score, indicating players and parents love it. Two items that do show up often that parents would like are earlier schedules and better communication. Start working on schedules now. Most leagues are going to be similar to last year, so you can begin those conversations with the other captains as soon as possible. I’ve found the app is a great way to communicate if all parents are logged in correctly. I’m happy to spend some time with anyone that wants to utilize that tool a little better.
League Framework
The plan is for a similar league framework to 2019. If you know you will have changes, please let me know. For example, if you were in a league and would like to run an “in-house” league this season, communicate that early. New teams will be added to existing leagues in their geographic area. Leagues can be between 4-7 teams.
2020 Focus
Maximizing the impact of PGA Jr. League is the theme for this year. There are multiple ways to do that. First, continue the success of your 13u program by adding 17u. There are a lot of players aging out of 13u each year and a lot of them are looking for something to fill the gap between PGA Jr. League and high school golf. The other way to get more out of PGA Jr. League is to offer a Fall Rec Season. During the registration process for the Spring/Summer season you will be asked if you are interested in Fall. Check yes even if you are unsure but want to think about it. This question is just so we can follow up with you about it.
National Champ Recap
The 2019 season was capped off with a win by Georgia at the National Championship. Bellingham-Skagit played well finishing 2-3 in their pool. They lost a couple very close games and represented the section very well. “The Scrubs” and Captain Rick Blankenburg are a great example of what makes PGA Jr. League great, exemplifying teamwork and sportsmanship at its finest.
Thanks to all the clubs and professionals that support PGA Jr. League. You’ve made 2019 a great year. Now let’s kick it up a notch in 2020.
Regards,
Branden Thompson, PGA
561-293-2585
bthompson@pgahq.com
Earn 2 PGA Required MSR's by Sharing Your Opinion on Your Membership
National wants YOUR input so they can continue making improvements to all of the programs being offered. Please take the time to fill out the 2019 PGA Member Offering Survey by November 22. In addition to it being valuable for continued improvements to all our offerings, it also is worth 2 PGA Required MSR’s for Members!
#GivingTuesday
GivingTuesday is a global generosity movement that’s unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and the world.
This annual “Global Day of Giving” event takes place on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving and has helped to amplify year-end fundraising efforts for nonprofits and charitable causes.
This year, GivingTuesday falls on Tuesday, December 3, 2019. On this GivingTuesday you can make a tax-deductible donation to The Pacific Northwest Section PGA Junior Golf Fund, Inc. and show your commitment to the future of golf.
Your generosity supports important initiatives like the Bunny Mason Scholarship and Youth Player Development Grants.