Far Hills, N.J. (Nov. 25) – Barbara Douglas of Scottsdale, Ariz., has been appointed to serve a one-year term in 2009 as chairman of the United States Golf Association’s Women’s Committee.
Douglas takes over as chairman after serving as vice-chairman of the committee for the past two years, as she succeeds Roberta Bolduc of Longmeadow, Mass., who served two consecutive one-year terms. Martha Lang of Birmingham, Ala., has been appointed to a one-year term as vice-chairman.
Nine other members were re-appointed to another one-year term on the Women’s Committee, including: Barbara Barrow of San Diego, Calif.; Stacey Collins of Cockeysville, Md.; Cece Durbin of Winnetka, Ill.; Martha Kirouac of Norcross, Ga.; Linda Lester of Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.; Dot Paluck of Bernardsville, N.J.; Ede Rice of Edina, Minn.; Gail Rogers of Santa Cruz, Calif.; and Laura Saf of Lincoln, Neb.
Three new members were also appointed to the Women’s Committee, including: Lew Ellen Erickson of Tulsa, Okla.; Sarah Haas of Carterville, Ill.; and Cindy Reimers of Missoula, Mont.
Four previous members of the Women’s Committee including Bolduc, Christi Dickinson of Paradise Valley, Ariz.; Carolyn Hooper of Hockessin, Del.; and Peggy Runnette of Pittsburgh, Pa., have retired from serving.
The Women’s Committee, which is appointed annually by the USGA Executive Committee, represents the Association in matters relating to women’s golf. Its principal responsibilities include overseeing the administration of the women’s championships conducted by the USGA, making recommendations to the Executive Committee regarding key policies and strategies to enhance the game, and supporting the development and promotion of women’s golf.
Douglas has been a member of the Women’s Committee since 1993, and prior to that, she served on the Women’s Amateur Public Links Committee. She has served on the Sectional Qualifying Committee and has been chairman of the Women’s Regional Affairs and the Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship Committees of the USGA. She is a member of the USGA’s Women’s Strategic Planning Committee, International Team Selection Committee and the Future Sites Committee.
Douglas is active in several golf initiatives and served as president of the National Minority Golf Foundation (NMGF) from 1999 to 2005. Additionally, Douglas served on the board of directors of the Executive Women’s Golf Association from 2005 to 2008. Douglas is active with the Doral Public Junior Golf Championship and the Women In Golf Foundation, serving as a member of the Rules and Competition committees. She also is a board member of the Arizona Golf Foundation and President of the Board of Directors of the Junior Golf Association of Arizona. Prior to joining the NMGF, Douglas was an executive with IBM Corp.
Lang has been on the Women’s Committee since 1999, was chairman of the Girls’ Junior Committee from 2002 to 2004, and has been chairman of the International Team Selection Committee since 2003. She is currently a director of the Women’s Southern Golf Association and was on the USGA Women’s Regional Affairs Committee before being appointed to the Women’s Committee.
Lang won the 1988 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship, played on the 1992 USA Curtis Cup team and captained the 1996 USA Curtis Cup team. In addition, she played in seven U.S. Women’s Opens, making the cut twice.
Erickson, Haas, and Reimers are new to the Committee. Erickson has served on the USGA Girls’ Junior Championship Committee since 1993 and recently helped conduct the 2008 USGA Senior Women’s Amateur Championship at Tulsa Country Club. A former assistant golf professional, she is currently a senior vice president at Stillwater National Bank.
Haas is the director of the NIKE Junior Golf Camp and she is the first woman to hold that position. She is also the former executive director of the Southern Illinois Golf Association, and is a three-time Southern Illinois Golf Association Player of the Year. She has served on the USGA Regional Affairs Committee since 1994.
Reimers currently is an executive with Sun Mountain Sports Inc., and co-owner and managing partner of Sun Mountain Specialties. A member of the USGA Regional Affairs Committee since 1995, she serves on the board of the Missoula Country Club Women’s Association and is a delegate to the Montana State Golf Association.
The 2010 USGA Women’s Nominating Committee will consist of chairman Jeanne Myers of Farmington Hills, Mich.; Sue Ewart of Seal Beach, Calif.; Ann Probert of Bernardsville, N.J.; Lorraine Thies of Phoenix, Ariz.; and Mindy Zamzow of Reno, Nev. The 2009 Women’s Nominating Committee consisted of Myers, Ewart, Probert, Sue May of Las Vegas, Nev., and Ann Swanson of Seattle, Wash.
About the USGA
The USGA is the national governing body of golf in this country and Mexico, a combined territory that includes more than half the world’s golfers and golf courses.
The Association’s most visible role is played out each season in conducting 13 national championships, including the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open and U.S. Senior Open. Ten additional USGA national championships are exclusively for amateurs, and include the U.S. Amateur and the U.S. Women’s Amateur.
The USGA also writes the Rules of Golf, conducts equipment testing, provides expert course maintenance consultations, funds research for better turf and a better environment, maintains a Handicap System and administers an ongoing “For the Good of the Game” grants program, which has allocated more than $62 million over 11 years to successful programs that bring the game’s values to youths from disadvantaged backgrounds and people with disabilities. For more information about the USGA, visit www.usga.org.
Contact:
Dave Fanucchi (dfanucchi@usga.org)
Web Address: www.usga.org
USGA Phone: (908) 234-2300
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