New Jersey Section, PGA of America, Announces 2018 Special Award Recipients
David Reasoner, PGA Head Professional at The Ridgewood Country Club Named
Golf Professional of the Year; Dan Pasternak, GM at Essex Fells CC Receives Prestigious National Award – PGA’s Highest Annual Honor
Bedminster, N.J., September 17, 2018…The New Jersey Section of the PGA of America (NJPGA) today announced its 2018 annual award recipients, led by David Reasoner, PGA Head Professional at The Ridgewood Country Club (Paramus, NJ) who was recognized as the 2018 NJPGA Golf Professional of the Year. Reasoner is joined by an esteemed list of PGA Professionals who were honored in several categories as 2018 NJPGA Section Special Award winners.
The following award winners will be honored on Thursday, October 25 at the Celebration of Golf at Canoe Brook Country Club, and at the NJPGA Section Fall Meeting on Monday, October 29 at Fiddler’s Elbow Country Club.
2018 Special Award Recipients:
Golf Professional of the Year – David Reasoner, The Ridgewood Country Club
Assistant Professional of the Year – Ricky Mosel, Upper Montclair Country Club
Club of the Year – The Ridgewood Country Club
Teacher of the Year – Chris Johnston, Farmer Brown’s Golf Center in Farmingdale
Bill Strausbaugh Award – Michael Holiday, Upper Montclair Country Club
Horton Smith Award – Brian Gussis, GolfTEC – Woodbridge
Salesperson of the Year – Jason Turner, Callaway Golf Equipment Company
Patriot Award – Mark DeLaura, Montammy Golf Club in Alpine
Private Merchandiser of the Year – Jason Fiore, Forest Hill Field Club in Bloomfield
Public Merchandiser of the Year – Pat Lawler, Rockleigh Golf Course
Player Development Award – Debby Murphy, Trump National Golf Club, Bedminster
Youth Player Development Award – Kevin Beirne, Spirit Golf Management in Hopewell
In addition to the Section winners, Dan Pasternak, PGA General Manager at Essex Fells Country Club received National recognition as the PGA Golf Professional of the Year. In winning the highest annual honor given to a PGA Golf Professional, Pasternak was honored for “qualities of leadership, strong moral character, and a substantial record of service” to the PGA and the game of golf overall.
Pasternak, the first New Jersey PGA Section Member named National PGA Golf Professional of the Year, has served as a New Jersey PGA Section Officer and on virtually every committee in the Section, as well as at the national level on the PGA of America’s Board of Directors. This commitment to volunteerism and service is reinforced by his current role as President of the New Jersey Golf Foundation, which he helped launch in 2004, as the charitable arm of the NJPGA.
NJPGA
Since its founding in 1916, The PGA of America has maintained a twofold mission: to establish and elevate the standards of the profession and to grow interest and participation in the game of golf. The NJPGA is one of 41 geographic sections throughout the country and has been in operation since 1925. In 2012 and 2015, the NJPGA was the recipient of the Herb Graffis Award, presented annually to a PGA Section that shows extraordinary or exemplary contributions in player development and growth of the game programming. For more information on the NJPGA please visit http://newjersey.pga.com/.
Contact: Jared Minski (jared@mastrocomm.com)
Mastro Communications, Inc. @ 732 469-5700
