AFRICAN AMERICAN GOLFER’S DIGEST
TO CELEBRATE FIVE YEARS OF EXHIBITING
AT THE 2009 PGA MERCHANDISE SHOW & CONVENTION
BLACK GOLF MAGAZINE CONTINUES TO GROW BLACK BUSINESS PARTICIPATION AT THE NATIONS LARGEST AND
MOST COMPREHENSIVE GOLF SHOW
New York, NY, (October 2, 2008)–Visitors to the PGA Merchandise Show & Convention, January 29-31, 2009 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla., will have the chance to experience the event while celebrating a milestone of five consecutive years of exhibit participation by the African American Golfer’s Digest.
The niche magazine launched in March 2003 and continues to be the nations leading publication for avid Black golfers. The national quarterly is the only magazine of its kind and reaches 80,000 readers with news, information and activities focused towards the African American demographic.
The magazine began exhibiting at the PGA Show in January 2004 and debuted its “Diversity Pavilion” in 2005, as a means for offering minority merchants and golf trade professionals an opportunity for participation and exposure in the mega-golf, trade-only, Show which can be an expensive endeavor for many small companies to pursue.
“Our efforts each year are concentrated on accommodating minority entrepreneurs, merchants and inventors in the golf industry with information and opportunities to meet the major companies, senior executives and decision-makers who attend,” says Debert Cook, CMP who is publisher and owner of the New York-based magazine. “The Diversity Pavilion is a result of the growing participation in golf by firms that are either minority-owned, minority-operated, or specialize in reaching the minority golf marketplace. Each year, the Pavilion’s opportunities have helped introduce and propel small companies into this arena of industry buyers.”
The African American Golfer’s Digest Diversity Pavilion has occupied a combined 1,000 square feet of PGA Show floor space over the years that it has been exhibiting and for January 2009 Show it will again be located in the Products and Services section of the Show floor at booth #3680.
“The PGA Show attracts 45,000 attendees annually and our Diversity Pavilion initiative has succeeded in consistently serving Black business owners and combining techniques for marketing and promoting their companies with substantial opportunities that are available through the African American Golfer’s Digest, the PGA Show and the $70 billion golf industry that this Show represents,” states Ms. Cook.
Each day the Diversity Pavilion will host special featured guests and personalities onsite to heighten the energy-charged atmosphere of the PGA Show, the most comprehensive golf show in the U.S. Special events and activities include appearances by African American PGA Professionals, LPGA members, USGTF certified golf trainers, renowned authors, educators and others in the industry. The magazine also publishes a special PGA Show Highlights section in its Spring edition every March. Its annual PGA Show press conference will be held in the media center’s convention hall on January 30 where it will detail additional 2009 programs, alliances and activities.
Also this year at the PGA Show, the publication will announce winners of its inaugural “Outstanding Leaders In Golf” Awards and hold a public meet & greet reception at its booth on January 29 from 2:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. After the PGA Show finishes the publication has arranged, a 5-day, 4-night Golf Business Networking Cruise to the Bahamas that departs from Cape Canaveral, Florida on February 4, where attendees can enjoy professional business seminars, panel sessions and mix-n-mingle with speakers, honorees, friends and colleagues in a relaxed atmosphere conducive for business.
“I am delighted to continue a successful working relationship with Reed Exhibitions, The PGA of America and the PGA Show organizers. Our combined efforts have grown participation to this annual trade event by African Americans and exposed many to the educational, professional and career benefits of attending this Show,” says Cook, whose booth receives tremendous foot traffic, media coverage and special guests each year. There is an estimated are 2.2 million African American golfers in the U.S. and the Diversity Pavilion has assisted dozens of minority firms in competing in the marketplace.
In January 2008 special guests and participants at the Diversity Pavilion included: Robin Aikens (LPGA), author of newly released training DVD: “Music, Golf & Motivation;” Alfonzo Dowe Jr., inventor of “The Twister” golf ball cleaning system; Mikell Johnson, Ph.D., author of “The African American Woman Golfer: Her Legacy,” A.B. Enterprises’ Handy-Tee Company, Lando Sports Apparel, and the Bogey Boyz ® conglomerate specializing in Bogey Boyz clothing, Bogey Boyz Golf Club, Bogey Kidz ® Mentoring Program, Investment Group, and Travel Agency for destinations worldwide, Earnie Ellison (PGA Foundation), Thelma B. Thompson Ph.D. (president of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, the first HBCU to run a PGA Certified Professional Golf Management Program), Jeff Donovant (National Black Golf Hall of Fame), Bill Hopson (Disney Sports & Golf), Burl Bowens (Golf Coach, Hampton University), LaJean Gould (Women In Golf Foundation), Pro Golf at Camp Creek owners, Weldon & Shirely Coleman, Malachi Knowles (African American Golfer’s Hall of Fame), Hercules O. Pitts, a dual-golf course owner from Maryland, Wendell Haskins of The Original Tee golf classic, Dara Broadus (Future’s Tour), Addie Cobb of Addie Cobb Golf Academy, Mary L Phelan (EWGA Board Member), Bill Fullard of BF Golf Tournament Services, Anthony Sheriff of Sweet Spot Apparel, Selena Johnson (Hollywood Golf)and Craig Stingley of C.S. Innovation, among others.
Celebrity appearances included “Tiger’s Double,” the celebrity impersonator and look-alike Mr. Herme Chua who signed autographs and posed for photos with more than 1,000 fans and Omarosa Managault Stallworth of Donald Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice who signed autographs and posed for photographs with more than 1,200 fans. Additional stellar visitors to the booth included Lee Elder (Senior Tour), Renee Powell (PGA/LPGA), Vern Burns (mini-tour player), Charles Calhoun (Golf Channel’s Big Break) along with a host of others.
Media visits and interviews at the Diversity Pavilion included THE GOLF CHANNEL, ESPN, Golf For Women and several Canadian-based and Florida-based newspapers and radio stations. The GOLF CHANNEL also produced a special Martin Luther King, Jr., special production at the Diversity Pavilion that ran on its sports channel during Black History Month in February 2008.
The African American Golfer’s Digest is registered with the National Minority Supplier Development Council with memberships that include the United States Golf Association (USGA), National Golf Foundation, International Network of Golf (ING), and Metropolitan Golf Writers Association. To learn more about the publication visit www.AfricanAmericanGolfersDigest.com
