Stafford, VA – J.P. Lunn, the former PGA General Manager at Holly Hills Country Club (Ijamsville, Md.), is the recipient of the Middle Atlantic PGA’s 2014 Horton Smith Award. This award bestows special recognition on a PGA Professional for outstanding service and contributions toward developing and improving educational opportunities for PGA Professionals and apprentices. Lunn will be recognized in front of his family, friends, and peers at the MAPGA Hall of Fame and Awards banquet to be held on March 8, 2014 at The Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Va.
John P. “J.P.” Lunn has been a part of the Middle Atlantic PGA since 1990 and has volunteered to serve his Chapter and Section in some capacity since 1997. He has a deep compassion for education, a value that Horton Smith also held close to his heart. As Section Education chair in 2012-13, he led the Section to host more education seminars in some of the local areas, allowing members to attend without as much travel. He continued Section-wide seminars like the Teaching Summit and seminars following the Section meetings and made education more accessible to the membership.
A native of Buffalo, New York, Lunn began playing golf at Orchard Park Country Club (Orchard Park, NY) with his father at the age of eight. His motivation to golf was further fueled by PGA Professionals Jerry Coleman, assistant at Orchard Park, and Lonnie Nielsen, head professional at Crag Burn Golf Club in East Aurora, NY. He became the boys’ champion of the Buffalo District Golf Association and competed in the International Junior Amateur.
Lunn earned his Bachelor’s degree from High Point University in High Point, North Carolina and accepted his first professional job in 1990 under the tutelage of PGA member Tommy Martty at WestWinds Country Club in New Market, Maryland. He earned his PGA Membership in 1994 and has worked at many prestigious facilities in the Middle Atlantic Section including Congressional Country Club, Brandermill Country Club, Rocky Gap Lodge & Golf Resort, and most recently Holly Hills Country Club. He spent almost nine years as the PGA General Manager at Holly Hills.
With a commitment to serving the Section, Lunn is currently the Secretary of the Board of Directors and was Northern Chapter Secretary from 2004-2005, Vice President from 2006-2007, and President from 2008-2009. He also served as either a Chair or Co-Chair on many Chapter and Section committees since 1997, including the Membership, National Golf Month, Fundraising, Education, and Employment Committees. Working with his committee members, Lunn enhanced the opportunities available to members and created programs that proved to increase attendance. The committee also developed the Instructors’ Committee that focuses on Instruction and Player Development learning opportunities.
Within his community, Lunn represents the PGA Professional by reaching out to local groups like the Frederick Lion’s Club, Frederick Rotary, and Frederick Chamber of Commerce. He is the creator and current coordinator of the Lion’s Club’s charity golf tournament which is entering its third year. For his past efforts in creating and orchestrating an annual MAPGA sanctioned Pro-Am for the Rotary Club, Lunn was honored with a Paul Harris Fellow (one of the highest honors through Rotary International). He also helped organize, develop, and host a golf event for the Frederick Chamber of Commerce. Since they did not have a PGA Professional on the Board, the members on the committee asked him to be their local “expert in the game of golf.” And if that isn’t enough, Lunn still finds time to volunteer for the Hood College golf team, the Advisory Board for the Mission of Mercy and the tournament committee for the newly created Operation Second Chance Golf Classic.
Lunn’s philosophy for golf is the same as it is for his business and personal life: he has and will always try to personalize his relationships with everyone that he meets. Whether it is a student, member, guest, or work colleague, he simply treats them as he would like to be treated and tries to communicate with them to the best of his ability, not to them, in an honest and up front, relaxed and sincere manner.
About the Middle Atlantic Section of the PGA of America
The Middle Atlantic Section of the PGA (MAPGA), located in Stafford, Virginia, is one of 41 Sections of The Professional Golfers’ Association of America (PGA), headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. As a part of The PGA since 1925, the MAPGA consists of over 1,100 members and apprentices in Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia and small portions of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Together, the MAPGA golf professionals, volunteers and staff support the mission of The PGA to promote enjoyment and involvement in the game of golf and to contribute to the game’s growth by providing services to PGA Professionals and the golf industry.
Contact:
Stephanie Jennings, PGA
sjennings@pgahq.com
(540) 720-7420 ext. 116
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