Are you ready for the challenge of volunteer leadership in the Association? What are the facets of leadership that will assist you in your journey? PGA LEAD, a leadership development program was designed specifically to identify, mentor and progress PGA Members from diverse backgrounds along a guided path to volunteer leadership roles in the Association at the Chapter, Section and National levels.  Incorporating dimensional differences into the PGA leadership ranks helps position the Association for success for the near future and beyond. The primary goal of PGA LEAD is to establish a deep bench of diverse PGA Members who are prepared to ascend to and through the volunteer leadership ranks of the Association. PGA LEAD also assists in developing PGA Members who desire to serve and make an impact on nonprofit boards within the communities where they work and live.

Overview

Each PGA LEAD Class is comprised of up to 15 PGA Members who participate in a specialized leadership development experience that is tailored to meet the needs of the participants.  The program welcomes PGA Members who are early on in their leadership development experience, as well as those who are more seasoned.  Programming includes the following areas of focus:

• Board Governance
• Conducting Effective Board and Membership Meetings
• Pillars of Leadership
• Developing Your Leadership Presence
• Public Speaking and Presentation Essentials
• Social Media and Developing Your Digital Brand
• Personal Branding and Promotion
• Diversity & Inclusion
• StrengthsFinder® and Fascination Advantage®

Through PGA LEAD, participants have a unique opportunity to engage in leadership and networking activities, and to develop their leadership acumen with the support of PGA of America executives and staff, as well as business leaders inside and outside the golf industry.

Annually, PGA LEAD participants gather in person at Association functions, such as the PGA Merchandise Show and the PGA Annual Meeting to witness leadership in action and personally connect with each other, industry colleagues, and further develop their professional networks. (Travel-related expenses to at least one function annually are reimbursed by the Association.)  PGA LEAD participants also convene monthly via video conference.

Eligibility & Application

While PGA LEAD is designed to drive a diverse demographic of participants (with consideration to the following protected classes – gender, age, race/color, national origin/ancestry, sexual orientation, disability and veteran status).

PGA Members who meet the following criteria are encouraged to apply for one of up to 15 slots in the 2019-2020 Class of PGA LEAD. Please note that PGA of America National Staff is not eligible to apply for PGA LEAD.

• Class A PGA Member for at least one year and in good standing
• Aspires to serve in a national volunteer leadership role within the Association
• Is committed to actively participating in monthly video conferences and related assignments
• Is committed to participating in PGA LEAD for two years (2019-2020), including PGA LEAD activities at the PGA Merchandise Show and/or PGA Annual Meeting during the program term.
• Is committed to making a PGA LEAD presentation at a PGA Section Meeting at the conclusion of the program as an inspiration to others.

The application deadline for PGA LEAD 2019-2020 is November 16, 2018. All submissions are confidential and will be reviewed only by the PGA LEAD Selection Committee. To apply, click here.

For more information, visit the Governance area within the Membership section of PGA.org, or contact the PGA of America’s Diversity & Inclusion Educator, Linnet Carty at LCarty@pgahq.com or (561) 630-1798.

As everyone has experienced, this season had an exuberant amount of rain which delayed, postponed, or cancelled many club events throughout the Section. One report indicated that during a stretch of 100 days, there were 51 days with some sort of measurable precipitation. As we all know, those days are lost forever and not recoverable moving into the Fall.As the summer of 2018 comes to an end shortly, I wanted to share some thoughts from, “A Message from the President”.

The Section would like to extend a special thanks to all of the Professionals who conducted a Pro-Am or event making our tournament schedule a success. Additionally, a congratulation to all winners and participants for those events. A special congrats is given to Dave McNabb for capturing the Philadelphia Senior PGA Professional Championship as well as Zachary Kempa for his Philadelphia Assistant PGA Professional Championship win. McNabb and Kempa will lead a strong contingent of Philadelphia PGA qualifiers to their respective National Championships later this year.s. Full President’s Message

Message from Past President – Harry Hammond

I am going to highlight some names of former Philadelphia Section professionals who I greatly respected as I began my career in golf. Let’s see how many you recognize?

William Palumbo, Terl Johnson, John Long, Joe Aneda, Chet Munson, Al Nelson, are some of many who had a huge influence on me as a young man breaking into the golf business. The names mentioned here where either my employer/mentor (William Palumbo) or area professionals who I credited with something important in adding to my growth in our golf industry.

Almost all of these gentlemen have passed, but they where respected PGA Golf professionals at clubs such as Kennett Square, DuPont, DuPont/LLoviers, Newark, Radley Run and Whitford. Full Hammond Message / College Coaching for PGA

Message from Past President – George McNamara

Many thanks to President Rogers for the opportunity to share some of my observations and experiences. Next year will mark my 50^th year as a PGA Member, it’s amazing how quickly time goes by and how much more there is to learn.   I have watched the Section as well as the National PGA grow. They are both financially secure providing many programs to its Members.

Golf is an extraordinary game and always will be. Our Industry has NOT shown growth for many years. Few new courses are being built and many all over the world are closing. Our jobs, with few exceptions, appear to me to be financially the same as they were 20 years ago. Full McNamara Message