WE PLAY -WE PAY- WE COUNT
Report Day 3, Oct 22, 2022 — Saturday, Oct. 22 was another great day of fellowship, networking, learning, sharing, and playing golf with 30 other fellow African Americans. Just who are these good people? A retired Air Force, lieutenant general, lawyers, accountants, business owners, entrepreneurs, business executives, business professionals, and former professional athletes from the USA and Canada.
We all share a common bond- the love of the game and the desire to share the power of the world and business of golf in our respective communities. These good people through the efforts of the Black Golf Clubs they belong to are hosting tournaments not only to crown club champions but to raise money for scholarships, mentor youth, support local charities and create networks for ongoing professional development. Now through the efforts of Rick Summers and Earnie Ellison, the vision is to capitalize on our resources and relationships to collectively amplify our efforts.
These and other issues were discussed during the second part of the day after a great morning of golf at Tuckers Point Golf Club. The Black Golf Clubs President’s Summit was held on this day and I believe this day will be forever remembered and revered in history as the day that the collective power of these clubs came together.
Western States Golf Club, Desert Mashie, Par Busters, Divas On Course, Fairfield County, 10 All In, Pro Duffers USA, Pro Duffers Florida, Black Lives Matter Golf Club – Nova Scotia are here not only enjoying the golf and weather but to conduct business and to harness the power of this game and the $192 Billion economic impact of this industry for their respective communities. These groups are representative of the 200 or more Black golf clubs in the US and Canada. Some of the groups have been around for over 50 years and have been ignored or just plain overlooked by the golf industry. That is about to change
These groups are realizing the latent power and potential of an ongoing collective effort to intentionally impact the industry. Through the discussions led by Rick and Earnie, the ideas were flowing from everyone.
Here is a sampling of what was discussed:
- Creating a directory of Black Golf Clubs
- Launching a Black Golf Club website for members only
- Conducting annual meetings of the presidents of these clubs
- Fostering entrepreneurial activity
- Quantifying the economic impact of these organizations
- Researching and profiling the African American demographics of the Black Golfer
- Hosting some sort of annual competition that fosters growth and development at all skill levels
Several people eagerly volunteered to work with Rick and Earnie post-Bermuda to move this collective forward and make this dream a reality.
The understanding was universal, if we don’t do this for ourselves no one is going to do it for us. Let’s understand our power and let’s put it to use. We play this game and have been playing for years. We pay money to play locally, nationally and internationally. There are literally hundreds of trips taken by us to play golf around the world.
We definitely count in this wonderful world of golf. This collective power is about to be unleashed and our communities and Golf will benefit and grow as a result.
Well done Rick, Well done Earnie. Thanks for your vision, leadership and persistence in making this happen.
