Derek Sprague, of Malone, New York, was elected the 39th President of the PGA of America on November 22 at the Association’s 98th Annual Meeting in Indianapolis. Sprague, age 47, replaces Ted Bishop, who was fired after making “inappropriate” remarks on Twitter, calling British golfer Ian Poulter a “lil girl” on Twitter and on a Facebook posting, prompting the PGA of America board of directors to remove Bishop, who later apologized for his comments. It was a gloomy day for the PGA of America, as this is the first time in the organization’s 98-year history that such a removal like this had been done.
Sprague began service on the Northeastern New York PGA Board of Directors in 1998, and served as section president from 2003-2004. He also was a member of the section’s employment committee from 1995-2001. He turned professional in 1989. He began his career at Malone Golf Club and was elected to PGA membership in 1993.
Sprague was named the 2005 and 2008 Northeastern New York PGA Golf Professional of the Year. And he is also a four-time (2000-03) Section Bill Strausbaugh Award recipient; a two-time Section Merchandiser of the Year for Public Facilities (1998-99); and winner of the 2006 Section President’s Plaque for outstanding contributions to player development.
Sprague is a 1988 graduate of James Madison University, where he competed on the golf team and earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Marketing. He and his wife, Jennifer, live in Malone, and are parents of a daughter, Alexandra; and a son, Davis.
His tenure as PGA president will coincide with the organization’s 100th anniversary in 2016, the re-introduction of golf to the Olympics in 2016, and the 2016 Ryder Cup, which will be held at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota.
June 9-16, 2014, Kasey attended The Player Advanced Academy, along with 23 other junior golfers, at the WakeForest College Academy in North Carolina. This 8-day academy experience is intended for advanced players and to provides an experience that will improve the chances to compete at a higher level. Kasey adds that it also taught her the mental aspects of the game, and how she enjoyed the opportunity of staying on the college campus for eight 8 days.
Kasey Torres concluded our talk by sharing with me that “Golf is my life”, and that naturally she wants to be a pro golfer, however she is realistic. She feels, first and far most, she needs to focus on her education. History is her favorite subject, and believe it or not she does have time for hobbies; such as reading, drawing, and wouldn’t you know, also art.
I can truly say that I am a supporter and an advocate of students that are studying the arts, and I assist in providing awards to those students who have clearly, more than once, demonstrated excellence in their creative fields.
Full of excitement from beginning to end, the ladies were greeted with a bag drop at the entrance; there was a formal welcome and demo by Ira McGraw Jr., General Manager of Cedar Crest Golf Course and Maulana Dotch, Director of Instruction at Cedar Crest Golf Course on the driving range. There was great golf on the course with lots of activities and surprises.
It was a wonderful sight to see all of the lady professional golfers, participants and sponsors. All were joined in one room for the awards and luncheon where they were welcomed by the Emcee, Donna Richardson Joyner.
brought women together from all over the country to encourage and empower the game of golf. Golf professionals Oneda Castille and Avis Brown Riley traveled to Texas to support this historic event.
Johnson’s eldest son, Van said, “The life of our father has impacted us as men in many different ways. Growing up we were fortunate enough to experience a very respectful and loving relationship between a man and a woman for 30+ years. My father is the kind of man who would speak few words, but would lead by example. He had the ability with just a simple look to convey something very meaningful. He grew up in a different time and was presented with limited opportunities. Whether it was track, wrestling, golf camps in the summer, advanced tutoring, and vacations to non-traditional places, we had more exposure than most. He and my late mother (Linda Johnson) removed many roadblocks and valued education which attributed to many of our future successes. The expectation we were presented with as children was to achieve our potential, anything less would not be acceptable. That expectation will be passed down to our families as well.”
Sons Ryan and Van Jr., present their father with a special trophy recognizing his hole-in-one that was made a few months prior to the induction ceremony.
The LED light turns on automatically when connected to devices and will stay on while charging. You’ll also not have to worry about the balance of power, as the Kodiak Power Bank’s last LED light will flash when the battery status is low. Take it anywhere.
Above L-R: Chris Fils, Lilllian Okapaleke, Bianca Berry, Belinthia Berry, Clemmie Perry, Dr. Anderson Prewitt (Event Coordinators)
In spring 2015, WOCG will launch their Girls on the Green Tee (GOTGT) program. GOTGT is designed to encourage and promote young girls and college bound students, to learn and play the sport of golf and to integrate various mentoring programs that will focus on initiatives to prepare girls to live and work in a diverse, rapidly changing world.
Clemmie Perry, Director and Founder, Women of Color Golf
This year the proceeds will be donated to Long Island Cares, a food bank founded by late singer and songwriter Harry Chapin, which serves 590 agencies across Long Island.
Participants enjoyed a full round of golf followed by dinner and an awards ceremony emceed by Arise News Anchor Julian Phillips. Those in attendance included Richard Caster, former New York Jet; Gary Anthony Ramsey, Director of Arise News; Debert Cook, Founder of African American Golfer’s Digest and others.
