Orlando, FL – The United States Blind Golf Association (USBGA) will host the 75th USBGA National Championship, October 3-7, 2021, to be held on the International Course at the Omni Resort Champions Gate in Orlando, Florida. The USBGA will honor five individuals and one organization as inductees into the USBGA Hall of Fame at an awards banquet on Wednesday evening October 6th. Inductees are honored for their talent and dedication that helped inspire others to join and grow the organization. The Class of 2021 inductees includes:
- Tina Andrews (Tallahassee, FL) Coach. Tina’s involvement in the USBGA began when she became a golf coach for her husband and USBGA member Bob Andrews. She served as a board member as well as treasurer and secretary of the USBGA. Tina helped publish the official USBGA newsletter “The Midnight Golfer” and in 1998, she and her husband Bob organized and hosted the first World Blind and Visually Impaired Golf Championship in the United States at Grenelefe Golf Resort in Haines City, Florida.
- Sheila Drummond (Lehighton, PA) Player. Sheila was the first female member of the USBGA. She served on many committees and was President from 2009-2011. She made golf history as the first blind female golfer to score a hole in one. Sheila’s awards include: the Raleigh Regional where she placed second; the Nationals McMahon Stableford Award and she is a five-time winner of the Nationals Low Net Award.
- Millard Reed (Reno, NV) Player. Millard’s introduction to the game at the age of 76 did not hamper him from winning numerous times at both the National and Regional competitions where he holds Senior Champion and Stableford Champion awards. His formation of the Millard G. Reed USBGA Endowment provides an ongoing stream of income to help defray the costs of tournaments, golf clinics and other activities that benefit blind and visually impaired people.
- Dick Pomo (Green Valley, AZ), Friend of Blind Golf. Dick served on the Board of Directors and as President (2015-19) of the USBGA. As an ambassador of the game, he hosted both the USBGA Arizona Regional tournaments and the ISPS Handa US Open Blind Golf Championship in Arizona over the span of nine years.
- The United States Golf Association (USGA) Friend of Blind Golf. The USGA will be honored for its support through continuing grant programs as well as ongoing public awareness campaigns. In addition to the Hall of Fame inductions, the USBGA will establish the Bob Andrews Lifetime Achievement Award and present the first one posthumously to his widow in recognition of his many contributions in life and to the game of golf. Bob, blinded in Vietnam, was a founding member of the association and served as President for 12 years. He was a member of the group assembled by the USGA in the early 1990s to write the Modifications to the Rules of Golf for Blind and Disabled Golfers. He created “The Midnight Golfer” newsletter for the USBGA and helped establish the USBGA Hall of Fame in 2007 to which he was inducted into the third class in 2010.
About The USBGA
The United States Blind Golf Association is a non-profit organization founded in 1953. The goal is to increase awareness of golf for the blind and visually impaired in the United States through hosting tournaments and growing the sport by introducing youth to the game.
Contact:
Tom Mirus
USBGA Hall of Fame Member & Chairman
75th US Blind Golf Association National Championship
407-433-8031
tmirus@aol.com
