Far Hills, N.J. – Thirty years ago this month, Elbert S. Jemison watched in surreal amazement as his idea came to fruition – in the White House of all places.
That’s right, the Members Program of the United States Golf Association, which boasts more than 900,000 advocates today, was born in the government’s famous Oval Office on Dec. 18, 1975. Arnold Palmer, the only national chairman the program has ever known, handed a pen to President Gerald Ford and signed him on as the first of what were then called Associates. The program has gained momentum ever since.
The noble occasion took place in front of a small gathering that included the likes of Palmer’s wife, Winnie, and daughter Amy, USGA Executive Director P.J. Boatwright Jr., future president and Executive Director Harry Easterly, USGA executive committee vice president Sandy Tatum, executive committee member Kenneth Gordon, and Jemison, who held the role of Associates Program chairman.
Jemison, a former salesman, beamed from the background like a proud parent watching an offspring graduate summa cum laude.
"Arnie and I got together to set out a strategy of what we would do, and we agreed that [Ford] would be the first Associate," said the 85-year-old Jemison, who served from 1970-74 on the USGA Executive Committee and followed up with three more years as an Association officer (treasurer in 1975 and secretary in 1976-77). "Arnold said he’d be the second Associate and I’d be the third, because you know, the president and Arnold have a little more clout than me."
There’s little doubt that the three were the impetus for the program’s success. President Ford and Palmer gave the program a face; Jemison painstakingly and tirelessly provided behind-the-scenes elbow grease to get it off the ground.
"A funny moment while we were in the Oval Office," said Jemison, "I remember President Ford kind of pulling me aside and asking, ‘How many do you think will enroll in this program?’ So then he said, ‘So far we have you, Arnold and myself and none of us have paid yet.’"
Jemison, who will celebrate his 50th year as a USGA committee member in 2006, still stays involved in the program. The 92-year-old Ford, contacted for an interview at his office, is still an avid golfer and fan according to his publicist, Penny Circle. And Palmer, at 76, is still as committed to the cause as ever. He takes a fatherly approach.
"It has created a great deal of support for the USGA," said Palmer. "I would like to see the program accelerated in the years to come."
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