President's Letter (Archived)
December 2014 (Archive)
President’s Letter
Mr. James J. Callaghan
Mr. James J. Callaghan
Mr. James J. Callaghan, of Rolling Green Golf Club, was elected President of the Pennsylvania Golf Association at its recent fall meeting. A long-time volunteer and Executive Committee member, Callaghan’s golf accomplishments include a Senior Club Championship at Phoenixville Country Club, as well as a Pennsylvania Golf Association title as the first Super-Senior Champion of the Hemlock Championship, now in its 10th year known as the Art Wall, Jr. Memorial. Mr. Callaghan also serves on the USGA Public Links Championship Committee. He went to line training school in 1959 and then to work as a PECO lineman a week after high school. Mr. Callaghan continued to work at PECO until 1998, when he retired as Supervisor of Electrical Training.
Dear friends,
The opportunity to serve as President of the Association is truly an honor. I have been a member of the Executive Committee since 2008 and have thoroughly enjoyed my time of service. Like many others, I didn’t get into golf until later in life. I joined Phoenixville in 1984 and that was my home until 2003. In 2004, I joined Rolling Green and met and played golf with Mike Schanne, Sr. Soon after, in 2005, Mike Schanne, Jr. made me volunteer for the Pennsylvania Golf Association. As they say, the rest is history.
Thanks to the unwavering support of our outstanding Member Clubs, the Pennsylvania Golf Association once again experienced strong participation numbers and received rave reviews of the high quality events and venues. In an Association first, we joined forces with the Pennsylvania State Women’s Golf Association to administer, concurrently, the Junior Boys’ and Girls’ championships at Hershey Country Club. The event was a great success and we look forward to continuing our relationship with the PSWGA for years to come.
Our 2014 lineup of championship venues excites me, particularly with the 101st Amateur Championship heading to Oakmont Country Club. The popular Father & Son Championship, going into its fifth installment, heads to a new venue at the Omni Bedford Springs Resort’s Old Course. We are also happy to travel back to the Country Club of York for the 98th Open Championship, our first trip back since 2005. The 11th R. Jay Sigel Amateur Match Play Championship travels to Sunnehanna Country Club, where we expect to have a strong field and a great event.
Our goal at the Pennsylvania Golf Association is, and will always be, to conduct first-class events at top quality venues. This year is no exception with Rolling Green Golf Club (Art Wall, Jr. Memorial), Moselem Springs Golf Club (Middle-Amateur), Waynesborough Country Club (Senior Amateur), Nemacolin Woodlands Mystic Rock (Senior Better-Ball), Blue Ridge Country Club (Public Links), and Chester Valley Golf Club (Better-Ball) among this year’s sites. If you have never played in a Pennsylvania Golf Association event, I sincerely hope this is the year you decide to give us a try.
As we move through a staff transition period, I would like to thank my friend Tyler Riggin for his years of dedicated service as he moves on to an exciting career as a Regional Affairs Director with the USGA, and I look forward to watching Cory Reighard carry the torch for the Association in 2014 and beyond. Continuing upon last year’s volunteer drive, we hope to add another 20 volunteers in 2014. If you find yourself with some free time and a little ambition, I encourage you to give the Association a try and give back to the great game we all love.
We are always thankful for the support of our competitors and our gracious Member Clubs that continue to open their doors to us year-after-year. Without your support and participation, our events would not be as successful as they are today. We look forward to seeing everyone in 2014.
Sincerely,
Jim Callaghan
President