Haggin Oaks’ Ken Morton Jr & Austad’s Ryan Austad Take New Executive Roles in Organization
National Golf Buyers Association members and its vendor partners gathered October 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th , 2021 via Zoom and Microsoft Teams for the second year of a virtual annual NGBA / Golf Headquarters Corporation Meeting and Order Writing Show.
“This has been a year of prosperity for our member stores that incredibly might have been even more eye-widening if our member stores had been able to anticipate every consumer demand”, said Executive Director Lee Clapp. “An important contributing factor is the great relationships members have with their customers and our vendor partners.And we have to thank our group’s vendor partners for their support that helped our members rebound and track for a great year. The reports of more new golfers added this year is a huge opportunity for the game and our businesses, for which we’re all very thankful.
“N.G.B.A is now 42 members and 68 stores strong. Mark Fern of Ultimate Golf in the Chicago area was warmly welcomed back into the fold as a member after an absence of a year. The Board of Directors saw some shifting of seats to help allow its Chairman of the last 10 years Scott Hoffman of Northway Golf Shop to give full attention to his very busy and expanding business. He remains on the Board as its President. Joe Thomas of Golf Headquarters Boardman, OH having served as Board President the last 10 years decided to retire from Board service. He was replaced by Ryan Austad of Austads Golf as a new Board member. Austads Hard Goods Buyer and Director of Merchandising Jared Greenfield was appointed a Clubs and Balls committee member, and Austads Soft Goods Buyer Laura Peters was appointed as an Apparel and Bags committee member.
Lastly, the Board promptly and unanimously nominated Ken Morton Jr. of industry-renowned Haggin Oaks Golf Shop and the Morton family to serve as Chairman of the Board. Ken spoke to the group and earnestly thanked Scott Hoffman and Joe Thomas for their dedication and effective stewardship and pledged to do his personal best to continue their good work on behalf of the membership”.
Clapp also spoke about the NGBA’s National Golf Performance Centers or NGPC “that will eventually allow members to tether to a national identity recognized for expertise in club fitting and testing without forfeiting their own identity. Once its dotcom is updated NGBA will officially launch the platform”.
This year the organization again printed and shipped along with a Thumb drive its 2020-2021 program book so the members could have it on hand all week as well as over the coming year. NGBA Program Director Joe Costa reviewed the contents of the huge NGBA 2021-2022 Program book containing NGBA Vendor Partners members specific programs, promotional show specials and the organization’s unique brands platforms.
NGBA Marketing Coordinator Sarah Hutchings updated the group about its dotcom being overhauled to better serve the membership and covered the Corporate office’s Marketing and Vendor Partner twice-weekly e-blasts to the group and its three times a year e-catalog newsletter.
30 hours of Zoom or Microsoft Teams vendor presentations to the membership began October 4th and ran through October 7th where vendor partners partner brands presented products and programs “live” with Q and A.
An N.G.B.A. member-only virtual roundtable wrap-up Wednesday October 6th enabled members to exchange opinions regarding the most impactful products and programs they saw. The valuable feedback and shared ideas reinforce that members all benefit when leveraging one another’s talent and experience. With members extremely enthusiastic about the upcoming year, the meeting closed with everyone very much looking forward to reconnecting in person at the annual NGBA / Golf Headquarters Corporation Meeting and Order Writing Show to be held at the Rockwall Hilton in Dallas October 3rd, 4th, and 5th 2022.
Vendors that would be interested in learning more on how to be involved with the National Golf Buyers Association and working directly with their 68 stores should reach out directly to Executive Director Lee Clapp at the contact below.
Contact:
Lee Clapp
Executive Director
N.G.B.A / Golf Headquarters
843-402-0142 ext. 202
lclapp@golfheadquarters.com