Kansas City woman to be honored for volunteer service at association conference
PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL, February 22, 2011 — The EWGA has named Kathy Thomas of Lees Summit, Missouri as the 2010 recipient of the Nancy Oliver Founder’s Award. She will receive the award, the organization’s highest honor for its volunteer leaders, at the 20th Anniversary Red Carpet Gala Awards Dinner during the 2011 EWGA Golfpalooza (previously known as the association’s annual conference) at the Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort in Amelia Island, Florida on April 13-16, 2011.
Named after EWGA founder Nancy Oliver, the Nancy Oliver Founder’s Award was started in 2000 to annually recognize an EWGA member who has displayed exceptional long-term leadership and service to the organization. Thomas exemplifies the dedication and service that is the spirit and mission of the EWGA to connect women to learn, play and enjoy golf for business and for fun.
Joining the EWGA in 1996 as a charter member and membership chair for the Kansas City Metro chapter, Thomas became chapter president in 1999. She then served as sectional director for the Heartland area and was elected to the Association Board of Directors in 2002. As board treasurer, Thomas established and chaired the first association finance committee. Since the completion of her board service in 2004, she has continued to be actively involved as a volunteer leader. Among other roles, she served on the association board development committee from 2004-06, as co-chair for the EWGA Foundation’s annual fundraising event for the LPGA-USGA Girls Golf program from 2005-09, and most recently, as co-chair of the EWGA Foundation cookbook committee.
“Volunteer leadership is the backbone of our organization,” says Pam Swensen, CEO of the EWGA. “It is because of the thousands of women like Kathy who give freely of their time and talents that the EWGA continues to thrive. They share a passion for the game, provide the welcoming environment that attracts and keeps more women playing golf, and through volunteering develop and hone their own professional skills.”
After a 30-year career with Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies where she held management positions in the information technology and engineering organizations, Thomas retired and started her own business, Facilitation by Design. She assists companies and organizations with organizing, facilitating and documenting workshops and meetings. She and her husband Jim split their time between the Kansas City area and Marana, Arizona, near Tucson, where she is president of the women’s golf association at the Gallery Golf Club and a member of the EWGA Tucson-Old Pueblo, AZ chapter.
“I am so grateful for the leadership opportunities provided to me through my involvement in the EWGA,” said Thomas. “I have worked with and learned from very talented, successful, and fun women; expanded my network of colleagues and made lifelong friends; extended my travel to many new geographic areas and fabulous golf venues; and most importantly, had the chance to be involved in the strategic direction and growth of the EWGA and making a difference for women and young girls in the game of golf now and in the future.”
Since its founding in 1991 as the Executive Women’s Golf Association, the EWGA has touched the lives of more than 100,000 women by connecting women to learn, play, and enjoy golf for business and for fun. This tax-exempt association delivers a wide range of golf, social and networking activities for both new and experienced golfers. There are chapters throughout the United States with international chapters in Canada, each run by volunteer leaders.
The EWGA is headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. For more information about the association and its membership, visit www.ewga.com
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